Untitled
by Goth
Summary: AU: Iruka has just moved to a new city with an odd neighbor. Against his better judgement, he finds himself falling for the strange girl with a hazy past and bleak future. Does he have what it takes to tame her?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I really need to stick with one thing, huh? I can't help it though! I've got so much free time on my hands since my man is at Basic…well, the blow out will stop in June but until then, here's another attempt at a story. Plus, I'm really a big Iruka/Anko fan, or is it Anko/Iruka? They're so cute together. Oh and by the way, I'm horrible with coming up with titles, so if you have any ideas let me know.

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own it. If I did…Naruto's parents would be alive, Anko and Iruka would be together, Haku would still be alive, Kisame would belong to me and Orochimaru would be in prison facing charges of, three counts attempted child molestation; eight counts of committing lude (sp?) acts upon a child; four counts child rape; and one count kidnapping with the intent to molest…yea…but, I don't own Naruto…

Untitled

In the overcast brightness of late afternoon, a young man with brown hair pulled into a high ponytail craned his neck toward the high-rise apartment building. A tan hand came to his brow, while brown eyes strained and grimly counted the balcony rows. Out of twenty floors he supposed ending up on the twelfth wasn't so bad…it was still eleven more than he would've liked.

"What floor ya on?" a gruff voice snapped him from his musings.

The young man turned, slightly embarrassed at having been caught off guard. "Oh, sorry. The twelfth floor number," he broke his sentence and dug a piece of folded paper from his pocket. Reading off the apartment number to the mover he then let him know he'd be up in a bit to help direct the flow of furniture.

"Hey, we just move the shit, we ain't your home decorators," the mover replied harshly, before going to the truck and assisting another man offload a sofa.

Iruka stared blankly for a moment then went back to his thoughts wondering what on earth possessed him to move in the first place. _That's right,_ he thought to himself. _More money and better teaching opportunities._ He sighed knowing he'd be starting his new career as a high school math teacher in a couple months. The young teacher took a deep breath, filling his lungs with smog-laced air. Yep, this was going to be great…

Inside his roomy one bedroom apartment, Iruka began the process of unpacking. The movers' stayed true to their word and pretty much set the couch in a random corner along with all the other heavy furniture. Thankfully, he happened to be a man of few possessions and after everything had been somewhat arranged, he felt comfortable enough to relax. He sighed as he sipped a beer and lazily took in his new surroundings.

A monotone white wall divided the kitchen and dining space from the living room, cherry wood bureau pushed against the wall with his TV and TV/stereo miscellanies messily piled around. Hanging cabinets stood over a rather ugly off-white counter top that hid a dishwasher and more cupboards. An old yellowish refrigerator faced him, along with a gas range. The kitchen turned into a small dining area, which currently resembled more of a storage room than anything else. He sighed again, at least the wall opened up on two sides so he didn't have to trek far to rearrange items. The tan teacher downed the rest of his beer in a gulp and went back to unpacking.

Twelve in the morning rolled around faster than expected and, with a satisfied grunt he popped his back and gathered some empty boxes to take to the dumpster. Deflated boxes tucked beneath his armpit, he made his way into the hallway. Locking the door he turned and slammed into the full chest of a young woman.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Excuse me," he answered politely with a slight blush.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" the woman retorted, pulling her cream trench coat tightly. Smoky brown eyes flicked over him quickly and a not-so-innocent grin crept over her red lips.

"S-sorry," he stammered having not expected that reaction. _Great, looks like I'm going to have trouble with the neighbors…again…_

She snorted. "Whatever." Her eyes once again scanned his sweat pants-wife beater clad body and the smirk only grew.

Iruka's skin burned from the intensity in her eyes and he awkwardly stepped around her, and headed toward the elevator feeling her eyes still lingering on him._ I feel so violated._

"Looks like I got a new neighbor, and a cute one at that," the woman said beneath her breath as she watched him disappear around a corner.

Iruka returned to his apartment with his uncomfortable encounter still fresh in his mind. He shook his head as he entered the flat, hopefully he wouldn't see much of her. After grabbing another beer from the fridge, the teacher made his way to the balcony for some fresh air. He leaned his elbows on the stucco ledge and look around at the surrounding skyline, but not to the street below. Air funnels that swept up the building blew his bangs and tried to pull his hair from the tie.

"I guess this isn't so bad…" A metallic bang inadvertently brought his attention to the busy street below and in an instant Iruka's stomach fell and the world swung as the feelings in his knees left. He hastily moved away from the ledge that seemed to want to crumble and, with his back against the glass door, tried not to hyperventilate. With his hand to his chest, he slowly calmed. "That, that was close!" Shit, he had almost dropped his beer.

"Scared of heights?" An all to familiar voice questioned.

He turned his head toward the sound and suppressed a groan. _Oh great, it's that woman…and, and she's SITTING ON THE LEDGE! _"Ah! What are you doing! You're going to fall!"

The purple haired woman smirked, carelessly swinging her legs. "Oh well, shit happens." A gust of wind parted her all to revealing robe.

"Please, for the love of God, I'm going to have a freaking heart attack!"

"Wow, you care that much and we're not even on a first name basis."

"Fine, Miss, please, holy shit…you're going to fall!"

She leaned forward a little bit, tittering on the edge and snickered at the frightened teacher. "You're too much!" She turned, swinging one leg to the balcony side while the other still dangled above the street. "Is this better?"

"No, good God get off the ledge!" he shouted, trying to think of a bargaining chip when his eyes dropped to the beer in his hand. "I'll give you a beer!" he offered, appearing confused at his own words; after all he didn't even know this woman. He shook his head, it didn't matter he would never be able to live with himself if she fell.

The purple haired woman raised an eyebrow at the offer. "You're assuming I drink?" Iruka gapped like a fish, causing her to laugh. "I'm kidding, what kind?"

"Cor-Corona."

She placed a finger under her chin, thinking to herself. "Is it cold?" she finally asked.

"Ye-yes. I keep them in the freezer," he lied.

"Hmm, I don't know. I'm more of a Budweiser kind of girl."

He wanted to scream at the top of his lungs. Why did women have to be so difficult? "Fine, whatever then! Go ahead, fall and end up like a pancake! I don't care!" He turned to go back inside when movement caught his eye and he watched in horror as she swung her leg back over the side of the ledge.

Whistling as she leaned further, her butt edging off as the updrafts blew her hair, "Wow, that's a long fall." Iruka paled as her hand slipped a bit. "Opps."

"Budweiser you said?"

She turned her head to look at him and leered mischievously. "Yeah, why? I thought you said you have Corona?"

"I do, but if you get off the ledge, I'll go buy a pack," he stated gravely, honestly he felt more dead with fear then alive with anything.

"Really? Mm, okay." She brought both legs over and scooted off the stucco, landing safely on the balcony.

The teacher released a long sigh. "Thank you. I'll go to the nearest store and I'll be right back."

"You know, I would have settled for Corona." Iruka's eye started to twitch. "But since you offered…" she grinned creepily. "I'll be over in thirty minutes so keep it quick." She disappeared inside her apartment before he could respond.

(A/N: Okay, well, what do you think? Let me know.)


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Holy shit, I'm sooooo sorry. Please forgive me!!!!! My computer died about three-four months ago (it's okay if you don't believe me, that excuse is used so often…). But don't worry! My husband dished out some cash (finally) and now I have a new computer and Internet. No more six month delay!

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Chapter Two

Anko smirked upon entering her flat, throwing herself on the worn love-seat. Her new neighbor was a total pushover! All she had to do was sit on the ledge of her balcony and the twit offered to buy her shit! She stretched out on the couch and directed her eyes toward a converted aquarium. Once it held fish but she found herself bored by them and opted for a snake instead.

"Hey, Jingles, you up?" Of course there was no reply from the snake and she noticed with annoyance that the lid had been left open. "Ah shit, where'd that snake go now?" She got to her feet and did a small sweep of the room, instantly finding the six foot python lounging in front of the stove. She released a sigh of relief, and made her way toward the serpent. "Hello handsome," Anko playfully flirted before sitting near the reptile. "How the hell did you get out?" She carefully pulled the snake into her lap and admired the red markings.

The shrill ring of the telephone woke Anko from her trance and she rose to answer it, now with Jingles wrapped around her neck. "Hello?"

"_Hello my dear."_ She visibly paled at the sound of the voice, but still managed to roll her eyes. _"I noticed you left early, may I ask why that is?"_

"I was done with my shift, dipshit." She began to twirl the phone cord, looking more bored by the second.

"_Such language is very unladylike...did you forget about the arrangement I made for you? I had a very disappointed gentleman waiting for you." _There was a brief pause before the speaker continued._ "I am, after all, paying you more than the other girls, aren't I? The least you could do is—"_

"Now wait a minute, I never agreed to anything and you know that damn well!" A light, creepy chuckle followed which only added fuel to her anger. "What's so funny? I don't see why you think you can whore me out! It's not like you own me, god damnit, I'm not some piece of meat to be passed around!" She paused for a brief second to think of something else. "And I don't have to deal with this shit, I don't need you or this fucking job!" Another soft chuckle from the other end. "What is so god damn funny?!"

"_Oh, nothing you'd understand, my darling Anko; however, we both know you need this job. And by that little groan I just heard I know you understand where this is going. So unless you're looking to end up in box covered with dirt or perhaps pay off your father's debt, I suggest you not pull another stunt like this again my dear. Do you understand Anko?"_

"Yes, Orochimaru," the anger and defiance now gone from her voice at the mention of her father, "I understand, it-it won't happen again."

"_Good darling, I'll see you for your shift an hour early." _A pause. _"And bring that snake of yours in, I'm interest to see how he's grown in you care."_

The line went dead before she could retort and she found herself slamming down the phone harder than was necessary. "That damn bastard! I'm not a whore, god damnit!" A sigh. "What the hell am I going to do Jingles?"

Once again she was met with silence.

***

Iruka juggled between the twelve-pack and his cheeseburger as he fished for his keys. After finally getting the door open, he none-to-gently set the beer on the floor and closed the door with the back of his shoe.

"Finally," the teacher murmured to himself, making a path toward the couch. "I love food."

Iruka plopped on the sofa and hastily unwrapped the burger from its wax paper cocoon, his mouth watering at the aroma of cheese and meat. He raised the burger and all its cheesy, greasy, goodness to his mouth and-_KNOCK, KNOCK! _The young man sighed and shouted a, "Hold on!" before rising to his feet. _THUMP! THUNK!_ "I said hold on! Jeez, some people are so impatient…" The eggshell white door opened and revealed his neighbor clad in that same thin, plaid bathrobe. _This woman has no fashion sense…shit that sounded so gay, _Iruka thought before speaking. "Hey, here's your beer. Now please stay off the ledge." He nudged the case with his foot.

Her smoky brown eyes drifted to the blue and silver case as an annoyed expression came over her young face. "Aren't you going to invite me in or something?"

Color rose to his cheeks at her forwardness and he subconsciously scratched at the jagged scar across the bridge of his nose. "Um, well, you see," he stammered. Why did she have to stare at him so hard? "I just moved in and the place is…unorganized."

She didn't look convinced. "So? I've lived here for three years and mine is always 'unorganized'," she quoted the word with her fingers, "but that doesn't stop me from inviting people over for a good time." She winked at the implication.

All to aware of his face heating up, he stammered for a response. "Um, I-I…it's late…"

"And it's a Saturday, well, technically Sunday morning. Move aside." His neighbor didn't wait for him to open a path and instead settled for shouldering past him. A low whistle slipped from her lips at the sight of bubble wrap, scraps of cardboard and the general disarray. Anko turned and flashed him a cheeky grin. "Wow, you weren't kidding huh?"

Iruka was in shock and he didn't quite know what to do with himself as she settled on his couch. "Um, well…"

"Hey, bring the beer over here--what's your name by the way?"

The teacher dragged the case to the couch and stood awkwardly next to the wall dividing kitchen from living room. "Look, I'm really tired and I'd appreciate it if you would…leave?" He mentally slapped himself, man he was being such an ass.

She adorned an over exaggerated pout as she rose to her feet. "Fine," she hissed angrily. "Be that way." The purple haired woman started for the door, not before tearing into the case and pulling two beers out.

Iruka sighed guilty, being a bad host was not something he was known for but then again he usually didn't have guests at one thirty in the morning. "Ah, I'm sorry about the rudeness, I'm just really exhausted. Would you want to tackle that twelve-err, ten pack this evening maybe?" He forced himself to say the last part, however, it's not like he could just kick her out and ignore her for the next year. Bad stuff happened when you pissed off confident neighbors, even more so when you're new.

Her eyes brightened the slightest amount. "What time? I usually work from six till around two thirty, three o'clock." She flashed him another grin. "I got off early tonight."

"Really? Where do you work?" Somehow he had roamed over to her and now found himself leaning against the door frame as she stood in the hallway.

An unreadable emotion flinted through her eyes as she replied. "I-uh, I work at a bar downtown, The Blue Dragon." She twisted the cap on one of the bottles and began to down it.

He nodded in understanding and cocked a grin. "Maybe I'll check it out sometime."

She laughed nervously, wiping the back of her hand across her mouth. "That's okay. You really don't have to, it's…um, it's a gay bar, so yea…" He raised an eyebrow questionablely at her excuse. "You know, I don't really like being hit on and with a bunch of queers around…"

"So you'd rather get hit on by women?" They shared a mutual laugh. "Anyway, it's nice to meet you….?"

She caught his hint after a minute of staring obliviously at his scar. "Oh, Anko, Anko Mitarashi." She shook his hand awkwardly.

"I'm Iruka Umino."

She shrugged. "I'll probably forget so don't get to offended." An awkward few seconds passed before she turned and headed toward her apartment.

Iruka immediately felt a wave of guilt as she slowly trickled down the hall. "Real smooth Iruka. Smooth like Ex Lax." And he to disappeared into his apartment to a cold cheeseburger that he somehow felt would have tasted better with company.

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(A/N: Short, yes I know but for some reason I shrugged with this chapter. I'll have the next one out on 30 January 2009!)

Disclaimer: I'm not affiliated with Naruto, Anheuser-Busch or Ex Lax. And if you try to take me to court you won't get a dime…literally.


	3. Chapter 3

(A/N Wow, I got this out faster than ever. What can I say? I'm THE shit. *dodges a tomato* Anyway, after a couple really late nights, I give you this! Chapter Three! See, didn't I say no more six month waits?)

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**Chapter Three**

Iruka hated nightmares, he didn't need much to remind him of this truth as he sat in a cold sweat and jumbled sheets. His heart hammered in his chest, sending unpleasant shudders down his spine and his brown eyes darted wildly around the room, slightly disoriented. The terror lasted maybe a whole thirty seconds before his senses came about and his surroundings became recognizable. He ran tan hands through his tangled hair free of its usual ponytail and sighed once his heart rate slowed to its normal beat. The young man rubbed his temples in frustration, all sleep gone from him at three in the morning.

With an incoherent grumbled, he threw the bed sheets to the side and swung his legs over the bed. His feet made contact with rough carpet and he blindly made his way to the bathroom, knocking over a hamper filled with clothes in the process. The light from the bathroom burned his eyes as the pupils contracted at the current assault, trying desperately to adjust. Iruka trudged to the toilet and flipped the ridiculously clean lid up, starting the process of relieving himself. The teacher exhaled his satisfaction, and finished the male urination process. Just as he reached for the handle, his bathroom partition shook from the force of something coming in contact with his neighbor's side of the building.

Curious as to what the need for such an act would be at this hour of the morning, Iruka side-stepped the toilet and pressed his ear against the cool drywall. This side of the apartment bordered the Mitarashi woman's and though he could tell her lifestyle was rather…eccentric he would rather believe it not to involve pounding on the wall at all hours of the night. He rolled his eyes at his assumption, just because she dressed, what was the word? Ah yes, revealing, that didn't necessarily throw her into the category of "working girl". Money may not even be involved in whatever was conspiring in her apartment.

Another tremor vibrated the picture of two dolphins jumping thruocean surf above the toilet, and a distinctly male voice followed. Iruka strained to hear what was being said, but couldn't make out anything audible, all he could make out was the obscured loud ranting of the said man. A harsh feminine voice, undoubtedly Ms. Anko's, responded only to be silenced a second later as another thud resounded to Iruka's side of the wall. It immediately became silent --eerily so he might add-- and the eavesdropping teacher concluded that the war was over. He shrugged to himself as he went to wash his hands, with the thought that the altercation could have been as simple as intercourse or as complicated as--he stopped his thoughts before they touched that subject. If he were to have any hopes of getting back to sleep, he knew to leave that more than well enough alone, after all, nothing is gained from living in the past.

****

Later during the same morning as the "pounding" incident, Iruka awoke to blinding sun in a dazed state of mind. After three weeks in this apartment and yet he still couldn't manage to get his bearings. With a stretch that produced several pops and a loud yawn, the teacher rubbed the sleep from his eyes and slowly wandered into the bathroom. He stared blindly at the texture of the white stucco while he relieved himself, his mind going over the worrisome noises from earlier.

_I should stop over her place, just to check that she's alright,_ he thought to himself as he flushed and stepped to the sink, running his hands under cold water. Shaking his hands briskly and wiping them on his pajama bottoms instead of using a towel, he began to rethink the original idea of checking on his neighbor, after all they've only talked twice and he hadn't seen her since he --and he cringed at the memory-- rudely kicked her out.

The teacher grabbed a chunk of chestnut hair and wrapped a blue hair tie around it, making it into his signature ponytail. He dung through a pile of clothes on the bedroom floor, before pulling a-presumably clean-gray muscle shirt from the pile. Iruka slipped his toned arms through the shirt and pulled it over his head. Straightening his ponytail out some, he gazed at his reflection in the mirror and momentarily contemplated changing out of his pajamas. A glance to the clock answered his muse, only three hours had passed since his last awakening and already it was too bright to go back to sleep.

He stepped out into the living room of his apartment and brown eyes scanned the neatly organized spaces of the room and adjoining kitchen. His eyes rested on an open case of beer resting near the front door with two bottles missing from it. He frowned, thinking of his neighbor and how she hadn't kept good on her word, leaving him with a case of Budweiser…if in the company of others he could handle its unpleasant taste, but alone he feared it'd sit there for a year. Iruka shrugged, and strolled into the kitchen where the remaining cardboard boxes and bubble wrap sat piled in a corner. It didn't really bug him to have to look at the aftermath of moving, yet it was an eyesore and if he did in fact invite Ms. Anko over for breakfast and more importantly if she accepted…Iruka shook his head and gathered the remaining boxes, stuffing the bubble wrap into the larger ones. Tearing the remaining ugly brown boxes into smaller, more manageable pieces before starting out into the hallway of the building.

As he stood outside his door he glanced curiously down to the door next to his and blushed almost immediately, feeling like a kid caught with his hand in the candy jar. The young man diverted his attention back to the task at hand and started down the hallway to the elevator. Stepping inside the confined space made Iruka become nervous, having never been a fan of small areas. The ride went smoothly enough thankfully, no being stranded with some weirdo who only talked about fish and how in ten years there wouldn't be enough male fish to fertilize the female's eggs…he smiled at the memory of the time he and his mother were stuck in an elevator for two hours.

The light _ding_ of the bell sounded, forcing him to leave that particularly good memory and he hurriedly stepped into the foyer of the building. His eyes scanned the deserted main entrance, the only other person being some lowly looking janitor buffing the linoleum floor. The wax shined so bright in some places, he could see his reflection as if looking into a mirror. He could almost see someone slipping if the floor got even the slightest bit of moisture, with his luck it'd probably end up being him.

The aforementioned janitor smirked a pretty much toothless-what few teeth he did have Iruka doubted they'd be any useful-grin and offered a gruff, "Mornin' sir." As Iruka passed by him on his way to the large double doors. He returned the greeting pleasantly enough while managing not to stare to hard at the various gaps and black gum-line. He briefly wondered where you could find these people and, even more so, why anyone would hire them. _Has to be equal opportunity employment, but you would think there'd be a drug test. Ah, just stop it already…maybe he just doesn't have dental._

Humid air heated by the morning sun blasted the young man's cool skin as he stepped out of the large apartment building. Even the normally busy streets of the inner city seemed empty, with only a few taxi cabs and the six a.m. bus going about their Sunday morning routine. He observed a bum pushing a shopping cart either suffer a seizure or a drug induced hallucination, Iruka was willing to bet it was the latter. Steam rose from a vent on the side of the high rise apartment building giving off the scent of laundry detergent as he rounded the corner and neared the dumpster. As Irukaheaved the last of the empty cardboard boxes into the dumpster, a wave of satisfaction rose in his chest. It was finally finished, now his new life could begin and things could go back to normal. He wiped his hands together, reappearing from the narrow alley just in time to see the one person he was most concerned about. An unnecessarily bright lime green taxi had pulled up to the curb, and exiting, in a very unladylike fashion, was his neighbor. He approached the building slowly, playing it off as if he hadn't seen her and hoped -- no prayed that she would notice him.

"Hey, you!"

The teacher turned toward the sound a bit to eagerly and grew a sincere grin at having been noticed. "Oh, hello Ms. Anko. You're up rather early."

She released a snort as she threw, literally _threw_ a few bills at the driver. "More like late." She slammed the door and walked to him in a brisk manner.

His grin only grew at the sight of her quickened pace. "Ah, late night bartending?" he asked as he held the door open for her, noticing with a keen eye she was a bit disheveled. His observations traveled to her neck where several small bruises caught his attention. "Looks like you're had a rough night." The grin now absent from his features as the noises from earlier replayed in his mind and he wondered how she had gone from home to wherever she had come from in complete silence. _Unless it was just a dream…but it seemed to real,_ he thought to himself, not taking his eyes off of her.

"No shit Captain Obvious," she spat, adjusting her trench coat, pulling the collar closer, slightly irritated by his concerned stare. Her gait quickened to the elevator, regretting acknowledging him in the first place. How the hell was she to know he was so prying? And to make matters worse, she couldn't, for the life of her, remember his name! She hit the button for the elevator and the door opened with a hushed _whoosh._

The young woman entered the cramped space followed by Iruka, who kept a respectable distance. Her fair skin prickled with his never ending stare, she sighed too tired to put in the effort of arguing. After getting called-or, rather forced back to work last night, she had not the strength to be her hotheaded self. She rose a hand to a tender cheek and fought back a wince from the contact. _Damn, I hope he's not the nosey type. I can only imagine how bad I look,_Anko thought despairingly.

"I'm going to make some omelets, would you like to join me?"

Anko jumped at the unexpected question and stared back with confused smoky eyes. She recovered rather quickly, or at least she thought so, and grinned cheekily, pushing other emotions to the back of her mind. "Sure, I could use a drink."

Iruka faltered, that was not what he had anticipated her response to be. "Wha-but it's not even seven in the morning!" He emphasized the seven and morning. "You can't start drinking this early!"

"Hey, it's five o'clock somewhere right? Besides, I've had a rough night I could use a little liquid pick-me-up." The door opened and she stepped out and waited. She yelped in surprise and shot her hand in-between the closing doors when her companion failed to exit within the given time. "Hey, you coming or what?"

He shook his head, clearing away the clouds from his mind. "Yeah, sorry about that." Color rose to his face as he stepped into the hall, more than a little embarrassed.

"You're not going to kick me out again, are you?" she asked, leaning against the wall as he unlocked his apartment.

He frowned. "No, don't worry…I'll be a good host this time." He opened the door and motioned for her to go inside. She declined with the shake her head. "What? I thought-"

"I am, but a girl needs to get cleaned up first." A not to innocent grin crept over her lips, lighting those pale brown eyes with something akin to mischief, but worse. "You'll be able to brag to your friends about this." She checked her wrist watch. "I'll be over in less than fifteen minutes, think you can keep it hot for me?"

Iruka promptly turned bright red at the innuendo and stammered for a response. "I-I…you…" he stopped and stared at her smirking lips and settled for shaking his head. "You're too much."

"I know, see you in a bit." She continued to her apartment and waved to him before disappearing inside.

He stood, awestruck for a few seconds…did he just see her-- no, no it couldn't be. Something wet and coppery brought his attention to his lips, he wiped a finger under his nose and when he looked at the digit there was blood on it. Yep, he had just seen some of Ms. Mitarashi's assets, but he wasn't complaining. Oh no, he was not.

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So, what'd you think? Well, you see that button over in the corner? The one that says "Go" next to "Submit Review"? I know you see it, don't play dumb, you see it now? Good. Now click it. .) -- I call that the Tobi Smiley Face...it still has yet to catch on...

Disclaimer: I don't own or claim the creation of any of these characters. I'm only borrowing them for my amusement.


	4. Chapter 4

(A/N: Alright, I'm being extra nice to you guys, because of that whole six-month delay; however, for the few of you who may know my writing style, you know I like to be encouraged with five reviews per chapter. I have the next three chapters ready for your eyes, but they wont be up till I see some lovin'. .) Okay, I'm done ranting.)

Disclaimer: Don't own it, so don't get your panties in a bunch.

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Chapter Four

Anko entered her unlocked apartment, after leaving so abruptly she had not been able, or rather allowed, to lock up. She turned to click the bolt over and noticed with a grimace that it was broken. The purple haired woman suppressed a groan at the realization of either having to tell management about another broken lock or live without that protection. Like it even mattered, this would be the fourth time in six months that her front door had been kicked in. She turned, greatly ignoring the mess that was her home and grudgingly made her way to the bathroom to see just how awful she really looked.

The reflection staring back at her was…unrecognizable to say the least. Her dyed hair was matted to one side and looked as if a cow had gone to work licking it. Swollen, chapped lips stood out against her pale face and she reached to touch a tender spot just below her high cheek bone. Light brown eyes roamed over a neck adorned with hand-shaped bruises, a dark ugly mauve hicky bubbled under the skin near her collarbone and droplets of blood dabbed the front of her grey shirt. Her shirt was torn at the collar and ugly crimson scratches trailed to her cleavage. The young woman's back ached from the whole "wall incident" and her hips were sore. But what hurt the most was the weakness staring back at her, laughing at her, telling her this is her fault that she deserves this. That she _is_ weak, pathetic and useless. She forcefully bit her swollen bottom lip, bringing blood to the surface as she slammed her fist into the mirror, shattering the glass on impact. The jagged edges of broken glass split open the skin of her knuckles and blood rose to the surface, spilling out and into the porcelain sink; however the physical pain did not relieve the emotional burden and she collapsed to the bathroom floor, drawing her knees against her chest.

She chocked back a sob when the stench of the men she had been with the night before rose to assault her senses. That putrid smell of sweat, and spit, and semen mixed with her own scent made Anko remember the two men from earlier. How she had to fake enjoyment with both men--no, those creatures weren't men, they were pigs. With both of those horrid, vile pigs inside, her abusing whatever orifice they could get their filthy cocks in. "Say my name you bitch, come on say my fucking name whore," one of the men had said as she rode him. And she did, she screamed that bastard's name so loud he actually slapped her and told her to shut up. "Say you like it. Beg for it, say you want it harder," the other man had demanded as he entered her from behind. And she did, she would say anything in hopes of waking up from this never ending nightmare.

Anko grabbed the rim of the toilet with bloody hands and dry heaved until her efforts brought up hot bile that burned her throat and made her eyes water. A sob tore through her and she could no longer hold the lump down anymore. Her thoughts swirled around what she had become in the last two years, how Orochimaru ruined her life with his sweet words, but as she tried her hardest to be mad at that man, she knew deep down that the real fault lie with her father and the money he had laundered from Orochimaru and his business partner, Jiraiya. Her father's so-called "suicide" and now she had to pay back thousands and thousands of dollars.

She wiped her eyes and tried to remember what she used to be like, before all this happened. She used to attend classes at the community college, she vaguely recalled wanting to be a Criminal Psychologist, she had even wrote a thesis paper on how violent behaviors are not just a result of conditioning, but are also passed on from the parents to the developing fetus. She had received kudos on the report and even took the time to get it laminated, so that when she was making the big bucks she could look back and reflect on it. Anko pushed away from the toilet, yea, she was making the big bucks alright…not that she would see a dime from last night's adventure into the depths of the sexually depraved.

With a sigh, she pulled her clothes off and kicked them into a ball in the corner. The young woman stepped into the shower stall and turned the water on full blast. Scalding water turned her flesh red as she vigorously worked a bar of soap over her body, scrubbing until she felt raw. Blood and dirt drizzled down her tone legs, pooling around her feet and swirled around the drain before disappearing. Anko felt somewhat better with the application of soap and allowed herself to slide down the thick plastice of the shower. High pressure water washed over her, minute droplets clung to her long lashes and prickled her eyes. She sat, with her knees pulled to her chin enveloped in the rising steam. She did not remember her breakfast date until the water turned to an icy chill.

*****

Iruka waited, tapping his fingers against the counter top all to aware that fifteen minutes had passed by thirty minutes ago. He groaned, assuming she wasn't coming and reluctantly returned the egg carton to the fridge. The teacher had a feeling this was going to happen and he didn't even bother as to crack an egg, knowing well enough to just wait for her. Times were different for women then with men, when a man said fifteen minutes, it generally meant that, but when a woman said that it usually fell along the lines of an hour. He'd had plenty of girlfriends come over for cold food during his years, yet he had never been blown off quite like this.

He ran a finger across his facial scar, repressing the memories that came with that action as he stepped into the hallway of the building. He wandered the few feet to the door next to his and went to knock. His hand stalled midway when he noticed the splintered wood and how the door bent unnaturally near the knob. He called her name and waited. After a few moments with no answer he tried the handle and his suspicions were correct that the door was open. Iruka quickly scanned the proximate area and hastily entered her home, telling himself that what he was doing was right and he was just checking on her.

Almost immediately his heart began to hammer at the sight of the apartment in such disarray. A couch had been overturned, blinds were bent and broken near the sliding glass door, there were pots and pans on the kitchen floor and her dining table had been flipped upside down. He took a tentative step inside and glass crunched beneath his shoes. This was not good, definitely not good and to make matters worse, he spotted what looked like drops of blood on the white carpet. When had all this happened?

"Ms. Mitarashi?" he called out in a shaky voice as he ventured further inside, slowly making his way to the bedroom, the door was slightly ajar and he could see a shadowed figure moving slowly about. "Ms. Mitarashi? Are you alright? It's me, Iruka Umino." The door swung open and before he could say anything he was staring down the barrel of a gun.

"Alright asshole, just what do you think--oh, it's you." She lowered the handgun in confusion. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Iruka, who was far to terrified to speak, pointed to the front door and then to the surrounding mass disaster area. His fear ebbed when he noticed her enlarged knuckles and long scratches that disappeared into her tank top. He finally found his voice after she continued to frown at his apparent lack of a reason. "I-I-was worried, you didn't come and I thought I should check on you." He put his hands up in defense as he felt sweat gather at his brows. "I swear I never met any harm, honestly I was just worried!"

Her almond eyes narrowed at his excuse and she clicked the safety back on the gun before tossing it on her unmade bed. "Do I look like I need looking after?"

"No-no, but I was worried."

"Because I was late for breakfast? I was on my way over there, but I may have to rethink that." Venom laced her words, damnit she was so pissed right now! She looked over her shoulder at the gun, contemplating getting it and shooting the bastard right here and now.

"Ms. Mitarashi, I'm-"

"Stop calling me that!" she snapped. "Do I look like an old hag?!"

"Wha-"

"I said do I look--"

"Look, please stop. I know you're mad," he started his explanation.

"Damn straight I'm mad!"

"Please, I heard strange noises in here last night. I was just worried about you." He reached forward and took a hold of her bare shoulders, taking note of how she flinched. "I'm sorry, please forgive me. I thought something may have happened to you and when I saw this," he released her to motion at the mess, "I-I was just worried."

Anko sighed, finding it to hard to be mad, she let herself forgive him. Honestly, this guy was too sweet for his own good, she had damn near shot first and asked questions later. "Alright, fine. Whatever." She turned and flopped onto her large queen bed, an arm thrown over her eyes.

"Ms. Mita-I mean, Anko. Are you alright? What happened here?" He hesitated before entering her room. He had invaded her personal space to the point of near death, even if she hadn't shot him, he hadn't been on the receiving end of a gun since…

She pushed herself up into a sitting position and shrugged. "Don't know, when I came home this morning it was like this," she lied. If he had heard her and Orochimaru's stupid goon arguing already, she doubted he believed her. She hit the nail on the head with that one, his expression didn't look all that convinced. "Apparently, it seems someone broke in."

Iruka rested his weight on one leg, uncomfortable with the atmosphere of the room. "Did you call the police?" She answered negatively. "Why not?"

"Nothing's missing."

"But still, someone broke in and you're not even the slightest bit worried? I saw your lock, it's broken. What if they come back?"

_Oh, they'll come back alright, _she thought to herself. _They'll come back, lock or no lock._ "Well, I don't have much to worry about since you do such a good job of checking up on me. Shit, you'd probably hear them coming a mile away."

His frown deepened, he was sure not getting off on the right foot with her. "I said I was sorry. I know I had no right to barge in here like I did, I'll leave if you want me to."

The prospect of him leaving may have seemed to be the fix to this predicament, but to Anko it felt that it would only make the problem worse. She exhaled deeply, why did it hurt so much when there were no ulterior motives to another's kindness? Has she honestly forgotten what it felt like just to be liked because she was…well, she was a likeable person. "No, no you don't have to go. I'm just a little upset about this, I get my ass handed to me when I stupidly tried to break up a bar fight, then I come home to this," she waved her hands around, "mess…and then you scare the living daylights out of me," she chuckled quietly at the statement. "I damn near blew your brains out."

He returned the laugh with his own. "Nah, just my eye. If you want to blow someone's brains out you need a higher caliber." His eyes fell on the standard issue .22 and reflected on his own gun that lay tucked beneath his pillow, one of the only things he kept of his father's. "A .44 Magnum would do the trick, coupled with a different kind of ammunition and with the right angle." He formed a gun with his hand and aimed at an invisible target. "You may be able to take a limb off. Now if you want to take someone's head off you should consider a high caliber rifle or a shotgun at close range of course." He appeared pleased with himself at divulging such useful information.

She looked taken back for a second. "Oh God, you're not one of those gun freaks that's paranoid the Government's going to come and take back your guns, are you?"

He nodded. "Yea pretty much." Her reaction was priceless and he found he couldn't hold back his smirk. "No, I'm just yanking your chain. My father had quite a collection and I learned from him."

She raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow. "Really? Well, then since you're so concerned about my safety maybe you could lend me something with a little more bang to it."

"I never said that. And if I did have a 'collection' it's against the law to give you one. You could turn out to be crazy and go shoot up the city, then it'd fall back on me."

Anko rolled her smoky eyes as she got to her feet. "Right. Well, I'm going to brush out my hair and I'll meet you over at your place. Don't worry, I'll be sure to barge in." She disappeared into the bathroom before calling out, "My place is a mess and I didn't kick you out!"

* * *

(Okay, I'm done now. You want more? I hope so, I'm actually enjoying writing this.)


	5. Chapter 5

(A/N: Holy crap! Jack got hit by a bus! Go to www(dot)hang in there jack(dot)com!!!!!!! without the spaces of course....)

Disclaimer: I'm not taking credit for the creation of any of these characters, and the reference to the music is purely to define our favorite little teacher's taste. Don't sue me...I'm not worth the effort. That being said, enjoy.

* * *

Chapter Five

After Iruka's embarrassment of the whole "entering" situation faded, he found himself staring blankly into the refrigerator. Something about her story didn't sit right with him, and to be honest he was a little more than concerned about it. Her wounds were not consistent with a bar fight, for God's sake it look as if her hand had gone through a meat grinder. He would've expected to see maybe a black eye, not scratches down the front of her chest; and the way she was walking, those clumsy awkward steps. His ponytail swayed as he shook his head, no those injuries were not from a bar fight.

"Oh stop it Iruka," he told himself, snapping from his daze and grabbing the carton of eggs, a bag with a bell pepper and shredded taco blend cheese. "If something else really did happen, why would she tell you?" He set the items down on the countertop and returned to the fridge for bacon strips.

"Tell you what?" a voice from behind asked.

The young man jumped a mile high and turned with wide eyes to the gloating pride of his purple haired neighbor. "How the hell-"

She shrugged with a grin still plastered on her lips and walked over to the other side of the counter. "I thought I'd repay the favor of your stunt you pulled."

He turned toward the eggs and pulled two out. "Haha, very funny. I already apologized for that." He cracked the eggs over a glass bowl. "How do you like your eggs?" He glanced and noticed her grin grow. "No, never mind, how do you like your _omelet_?"

She played with the strings of her cream sweatpants before answering. "Cheese and bacon."

"Okay, no problem." He whisked the eggs together with a fork and added torn pieces of bacon and a handful of cheese. "Is this enough cheese?" He turned to show her the bowl only to be met with empty space. Confused as to where she had made off to, he leaned on the counter and did a quick sweep of the apartment. "What are you doing?"

She sat crossed legged on the floor and looked up with a CD in her hand as if it were perfectly normal for her to look through his things. "Looking for some music. You got anything good? All I see is a bunch of Andrea Bocelli, Beethoven, Mozart, and…Habib Koite and Bamada? Seriously what the hell kind of crap is this?" She threw the CDs on the floor and looked at him disappointedly. "If you want to keep hanging out with me you need to upgrade your music tastes."

Iruka choose to ignore the last comment. "They were my mother's. I don't really care for the Bamada one, but I play Beethoven and Mozart for the kids and Andrea-"

"Wait, kids?"

He nodded, turning to the stove and pouring the egg mixture into a hot skillet. "Yeah, I'm a teacher." He raised an eyebrow. "You thought I had kids for a second, huh?" The mixture in the pan began to pop and he flipped one side over, creating a fold.

Anko laughed and returned to the counter. "Yeah, I got worried. I can't stand children." She shuddered for emphasis. "They're so annoying."

"Aw, they're not all that bad." He scooped the omelet from the pan and set it on a plate. "Here, careful, it's hot." He slid the plate to her. "You want anything else?"

"A fork would be nice. So what kind of teacher are you?"

He pulled a fork from the drawer and handed it to her. "High school math. Mostly algebra, but I should also have an advanced geometry class." His gaze fell to her mangled hand, it seemed as if she hadn't bothered to clean the cuts. "Are you sure your hand is okay? I have peroxide and some band-aids."

She looked up from her breakfast with a mouthful of egg in her month. "Uh ein." A piece of egg fell from her mouth at the effort of speaking.

He nodded, not understanding what she had said, but felt it better to play it off and ask again later. The skillet sizzled as he poured his omelet mixture into the iron pan. "So, what happened to your hand? It looks pretty bad."

This time she actually swallowed the food in her mouth. "As I was attempting to break a fight up, this ass picks up a bottle and tries to hit the other guy over the head. I covered my head to protect myself, and he misses the other guy and hits me instead!" She shoveled another fork full of egg into her mouth.

He brought his omelet to the counter and picked at it with disinterest. "Why didn't the bouncer handle it?"

Anko locked eyes with him, daring him to keep asking. "Why are you giving me the third degree?" she inquired, suddenly very defensive.

The brown haired man backed down a bit, taking her tone as a hint that he'd over stepped his boundaries. "Just curious." He took a tentative bite of his breakfast. "You having to break up a fight doesn't seem right."

She shrugged, bored of the subject. "Tell me about it, but I need the money." Her smoky eyes rested on his scar. "Since your being so nosy-"

"I'm not trying to be nosy, just concerned is all."

"Aw, I'm touched." She put her hand over her heart and batted her eyelashes at him. "Anyway, back to what I was saying, how did you get that scar? Seems a little out of place for a docile teacher."

His eyes hardened at her comment as the memory of that particular moment came flashing back. "Car accident," he answered simply, turning to empty his plate and the barely eaten omelet in the trash.

"Hey! Don't throw that away, give it to me, I'll eat it!" He traded her his full plate for her empty one. "This is the best food I've had in a long time, we should do this more often."

"You're not trying to take advantage of me, are you?" he asked playfully.

"Believe me, you would know if I were," she answered with a wink. "Although, you need to get some stools or something. I'm not really feeling this whole standing thing you got going on."

"I usually eat on the couch."

"I have some at my apartment, I can bring them over next time, if you don't mind." Another trademark grin sprawled the length of her mouth. "I don't think we've graduated to cuddling on the couch."

He rolled his eyes, it seemed he did that a lot in her company. "Very funny."

"What can I say? I'm a riot. Anyway, when do you start work?"

"This Wednesday, I'm so excited. I've just been wandering around the city, trying to get my bearings."

She slid her plate over to him and patted her stomach happily. "I could help you, I've lived here my whole life. What school are you going to be teaching at?"

"Konoha High. I walked by it the other day, it's pretty big. Bigger than I originally thought."

"Hey, cool. One of my friends works there. Her name is Kurenai, you won't miss her, she got these creepy ass red eyes." She cleared her throat. "Tell her Anko says hi and that we should totally get together sometime."

"I'd be happy to, that is if I'm not too overwhelmed."

Anko smiled and began to say something else but was silenced by the abrupt ring of her phone. She grumbled and looked at the screen, her face paled the slightest and she rose her eyes to Iruka, resembling a deer caught in headlights. "Excuse me a second."

He nodded politely and gathered the dishes for washing. Even though he turned the water on full blast, the teacher kept an ear out.

"What?" she answered the phone briskly. "No, I'm not. What do you mean why not? I'm having breakfast with a friend, cocksucker."

Iruka happened to hear the word 'friend' and couldn't keep the smile off as he scrubbed the same dish for the third time. _I'm her friend…that must mean she likes me. _He mentally slapped himself for acting like a schoolgirl.

"But tonight's my night off," she spoke on the phone. "But-yes, yes I know, you seem to enjoy reminding me of this every chance you get." A pause. "Fuck you! At least give me a chance to-" There was another pause and Anko felt her stomach turn at the remark of the person on the other end. "Fine, I'll be there tonight." She hung up and sighed loudly, muttering, "fucker," under her breath.

"Everything alright?" Iruka asked, turning of the water and leaning opposite the sink. "You seem kind of upset, you want that drink now?"

She shook her head. "No thanks, that was my boss. Apparently, I have to work on my night off." She blew a stray piece of damp hair from her face. "Just great."

Her breakfast companion frowned. "Did you mention your apartment? I think that would be grounds for you to have the night off, especially since you were _supposed_ to have off."

"One would think that." She straightened up and slammed her open palms on the fake marble. "Well, Izuka-"

"Um, actually it's Iruka."

She waved it off. "I told you I'd forget. Anyway, thanks for breakfast, and like I said, we should do this again."

He perked up and his eyes softened. "Yes, definitely," he replied walking her to the door like the gentlemen he was. "Whenever you're hungry, you know where I live." He held the door open for her. "Do you want me to help you clean up?"

She shook her head. "No thanks. I'm hardly ever there and when I am, I'm usually asleep. I'll get to it some other time. Bye." She waved as she turned to her apartment.

He watched her disappear before shutting the door, a great weight settled on his chest. Everything about his new friend--yes, he now felt comfortable referring to her as that--was sketchy at best; however he didn't see any harm toward harboring a relationship with her. Besides, the poor girl seemed like she needed at least one true friend.

* * *


	6. Chapter 6

(RANT: I'm too nice…not even meeting my quota, and yet I just can't help but get too excited and post something new as soon as I'm done with it. ./ Tobi Frowning Face. Anyway, the rating went up due to this chapter…I had planned to keep this clean with only vague references to sex, because I don't like stories that revolve around sex and I just figure everyone's got the same mind set as me, even though this has never been true…anyway I thought maybe I needed that little scene for her character development. If you think I should take it out let me know, 'cause I'm not too happy with it. Ah god, I still can't believe I wrote what I did…) THIS HAS BEEN RE-WORDED! -2/10/09-

Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine, nor is the Don McLean and Def Leppard song reference, and the same goes for Alice in Wonderland, which we all KNOW is about a little girl experimenting with acid (no, don't you deny the evidence!). Okay, I don't think I forgot anything.

* * *

Chapter Six

Bright city lights passed by Anko in a blur as the taxi sped toward its destination. She sat in silence, not acknowledging the driver or the horrid public access talk show going on about the recent crime waves and idly picked the peeling leather. She attempted to organize her shifting emotions, until settling on fear. Her heart began to hammer when the cab hung a right and pulled up to the curb, coming to a hard stop. A bright neon sign spelled out the name of a well-known popular gentlemen's club, Toad Fire.

The cabbie leaned over the seat and eyed her hungrily. "I could wave the fee for a small favor." He grinned exposing a mouth full of sores.

She narrowed her eyes, this was the main reason she hated taking cabs to and from work. "How about," she batted full lashes at the balding man, "you pull around the back and wait for me to get ready?"

The man smirked and nodded eagerly as he shifted the car into drive. "Oh, yea, I'm getting' some tanight!" the cabbie cried happily as she stepped out, showing more leg than necessary.

Anko grinned to herself watching the yellow cab disappear. "Heheh, works every time." She reached into her purse retrieving her cell phone, and dialed the number to the local police department. "Hello? Yes I'd like to report prostitution in the 500th area of East Date Ave. Yea, I just saw a yellow cab park in the ally with a girl, no, no she's not that type of fare I assure you." She paused and pretended to listen to the other voice. "Alright, sounds good." She snapped the phone shut and dropped it into her purse.

Inhaling deeply she started toward the club, nervous anticipation building with the click of her heels and her brain screamed to stop, flag down a taxi and ride it far into the country, never come back and start a new life all together. The door jingled as a man and woman exited the club, both gushing and leaning onto each other to walk without falling down. She slipped in through the opening and tried to make her way unnoticed to the changing room.

"Hey, hey!" a deep baritone voice boomed above the fast paced music, "How's my second favorite girl?"

Anko stopped and and rolled her eyes before turning toward the source of that loudness. She grinned at the white haired bartender, noticing his blonde wife behind the bar helping him deal with the flow of customers. "Hey Jiraiya! Hello Tsunade, volunteering again?" Taking a detour over to the bar, she squeezed in between patrons and leaned on the sticky surface.

"What? Volunteering? Hell no, she just wants to be closer to her stud!" Jiraiya exclaimed wrapping an arm around her waist as he dipped his eyes over her impressive bust.

"Hmm, real stud," Tsunade murmured just barely audible over Def Leppard's _Pour Some Sugar on Me_. "Now start fillin' some glasses." She handed out a mixed drink and two beers to some nameless customers. "What time you going on? I thought you were off tonight…" Male cheering roared in the background as a girl spun around on a pole, tossing the last of her clothes to the wooden platform.

Anko shrugged, appearing to be unperturbed by the situation. "Yea, I was supposed to be off, but Orochimaru called me in."

The older man's brows furred together. "He's not working you hard, is he? I can tell him to lay off. As far as I'm concerned you shouldn't have to pay off your father's debt."

"Tell me about it. I'll never know why you work with such a man," she replied, thankful to have at least one person on her side. She checked her wristwatch and smiled a goodbye. "I gotta go get ready. I'm on in ten."

"Alright see you up there sexy momma!" Jiraiya called out. "Yeah! BAM!"

Anko left the bar scene and trudged down a narrow hallway adjacent a large, clover-like main stage with stainless steel poles positioned in the middle of the "leaves". Lining the orange walls were rooms for the more…private shows, complete with yet more poles, a bed and shower stall. A large dressing room loomed at the end of the dimly lit hallway, and, with the insertion of a security key, she was greeted to the sight of several girls skirting around. Unlike the rest of the club, bright florescent lights beamed from the unfinished ceiling ducts and vibrantly illuminated various stage girls.

She coolly made her way through the glittered, naked bodies occupying the space, greeting a few with smart comments and fake laughs while still managing to ignored them; after all, they only knew each other by stage names, no need for more than the formal BS to keep things civil.

"Hey Red," Anko said as she sat next to a blonde well known for dying her pubes fire hydrant red and opened a drawer, pulling out a black thong with a matching fishnet bra.

"Hey there Viperess, I thoughts you was off?" the girl replied as she tousled her hair and doused it in hairspray. "Can't stay away from Mr. Snaky's snake, huh girlie?" She smacked her gum at the end of the statement and added some black lipstick.

"Please," Viperess replied as began to undress. She reached for the stage bra and stopped, noticing a shifting figure in the mirror's reflection.

"Hello darling, how are you this evening?" an unhealthily pale man with haunting gold eyes and long black hair inquired.

"Fine."

He chuckled and ran a hand down her neck. "What are you doing? I thought Kabuto told you." He bent to her level and whispered in her ear. "You'll be working the back tonight." His wolfish grin grew at the shudder that raced through her body and he couldn't help but run his long tongue over her pulse. "And this time, I'll be keeping a close watch on you. Heheh, you still owe me another seventy grand, so don't think about pulling another one of your famous disappearance acts."

She tried to respond but found no words and watched Orochimaru move on to a new girl. Red's mouth fell open and she turned to Viperess excitedly, instantly spewing misled facts about their boss. Her eyes fell to the fishnet bra a top the dresser, blocking out the annoying chatter and she took a deep breath to steady a racing heart. She was no longer Anko, she was Viperess now, the venomous bite of the night.

***

The compressor of a refrigerator kicked on, settling in sync with the hum of the air conditioner. Sirens wailed through the streets below, racing off to an unknown and faded into early morning gloom. Shadows danced along monotone walls, transforming everyday household objects into creatures from of our deepest terrors.

Iruka sat in the arms of darkness as television rays flickered over deep frown lines, another nightmare fresh in his mind, and keeping him away from sleep. He absently changed the channel, surfing from infomercial to infomercial; a monster movie from the '30s caught his attention for a brief second before he lost interest. He groaned in aggravation and silenced the television, to be instantly engulfed in inky blackness. Only the lights of neighboring buildings offered light to the darkness, to his darkness; the darkness that constantly plagued his conscience and took the form of horrifying nightmare, cursed to forever relive those endless days from his childhood.

He ran a finger across the bridge of his nose, feeling the uneven skin and wincing at the contact. Iruka pulled his digit back as if burned and buried his head in his hands, biting back a sob as the hardened face of father flashed through his mind's eye. His heartbeat increased and the air took on the weight of lead as he gasped like a fish out of water. Tears burned his eyes, fighting to free themselves. He balled his fists and pushed them against his eyes, as if to physically hold back his pain. After the wave passed, he took several deep breaths and pushed his emotions into the recesses of his mind. He stood and walked to the sliding glass doors, opening them to the humid breeze of summer as he stepped onto the balcony.

The concrete jungle's beat stilled with the waning hours of morning. Iruka sighed and leaned onto the rough, craning his neck skayward trying to find a star to no avail. He glanced over to his neighbor's balcony, hoping to see her perched on the edge, legs swinging carelessly above the city streets. They could keep each other company, he could cook a late night--or early morning--snack for her and she could chase away his recent nightmare with her brash nature; yet, to his great disappointment, it seemed he would share the evening with a dead potted plant.

*EXTREME CRUDE, LEWD WARNING!!!!! DON'T READ THIS SECTION IF YOU CAN'T HANDLE IT!!!!*

***

A muffled scream filled one of the many tacky private showrooms of the Toad Fire club as Viperess snapped a leather whip over the bare hide of a customer. The costumer's hands were cuffed behind his back and aside from a gag-ball, he was completely naked. Long brown hair framed his handsome face and as the next lash came he yelped, wishing for his usually ever present toothpick. He buried his head into the red sheets and resisted his body's demand for release.

"I'm getting bored of this pig. How about, we move on to something a little more fun? Huh? You like having fun, right?" Viperess hissed as she returned the whip to, hanging it on a hook with the rest of the toys. This room in particular was used mostly for bondage and very little--if any--intercourse occurred in here.

Smoky eyes flashed over various assortments of out-of-the-ordinary sexual devices; standard whips, spiked paddles, clamps, electric cattle prods…the works. Viperess' lips contorted into a sinister grin as she made her choice. The customer glanced over his shoulder, drool seeping around the gag and cheeks deeply flushed with arousal, it wasn't everyday he got a knockout to tease him; however the initial excitement fade and his eyes grew wide when his over-stimulated brain processed the information. He rose to stand, but she drove the heavy platform of her boot into his kidneys and sent him back on the bed. The bed shook with the impact of his upper body and inky spots flickered through his vision.

"Get down you filthy maggot!" She chuckled darkly, slipping long legs through black harness straps, and pulling the crude sex toy to her waist. "You're gonna like this you slut," she spat with pent-up anger from the night before.

Her vict--err, customer struggled against his cuffs and wiggled on the bed, trying to get away, big panicked eyes flashed over his shoulders. Without wasting another second, she forcefully pushed the dildo into his opening, fighting much resistance until all eight inches of hard rubber disappeared inside him. Her twisted grin increased in size and in a single fluid motion, she wrapped her arm around his throat forcing him into a choke hold while beginning a fast thrust.

White foam bubbled and flew from the corners of the man's mouth as he screamed and thrashed, desperately trying to loosen her chokehold. His world dipped into black before exploding into full color as his body betrayed him, releasing into tangled bed sheets. He gasped for air when the assault did not stop and found tears prickle his eyes, this was definitely not what he had expected when he saw the sign and even more so when he was assured a dominating night. He was going to the manager as soon as that god damn clock rang!

Through the violent thrusting and trapped somewhere deep inside the façade of the ever sadistic Viperess, Anko body shuddered at the very realization of this-this atrocity. Her muscles contracted, tightening on the man's larynx and at that very moment, murder seemed like a good way out of this huge mess. Not to mention she recognized him from the night before, Genma was the bastard's name…she would know on the count he had her scream for him.

"Who's screaming now?" she panted, sweaty and slightly out of breath with the amount of effort she exerted. "Scream my name asshole, come on scream my fucking name! Say Anko, come on you slut, SAY IT! SAY ANKO!" A mumbled cry reached her ears, only serving to add fuel to her fire. "You make me sick!" And through her own madness, her eyes burned and when she blinked, something wet and foreign rolled down her cheek.

An obnoxiously loud buzzer rang loudly inside the room; time was up, it was over…thankfully, any longer and she very well may have killed the man. Calmly, she released her grip and pulled the dildo from him, earning a relieved sigh from the costumer. Viperess shuddered at the contents of the aforementioned sex toy and abandoned it on the floor for the next person to clean…there was no way in hell she was cleaning that thing. She strolled to the buzzer and silenced it with, yet another special key. On the bed the violated man tossed her anxious glances and motioned for her to un-cuff him. Ignoring his pathetic pleading, Viperess grasped the door handle, sending a small glimpse toward the bound man.

"Fuck you," she rasped and exited the room, being sure to lock the door behind her.

***

*END CRUDE, LEWD SECTION*

Once inside the changing room she quickly discarded her leather corset, platform heels and fishnets in a ball near the designated laundry site. Eyeing the clock nervously, she slipped a mesh shirt on and fumbled with a skirt. She grabbed her tan trench coat and quietly slipped out the back door and sprinted down the alleyway barefoot. No time to bother with her shoes, not to mention it's damn near impossible to run in stilettos.

She traveled over warm, uneven asphalt with Orochimaru's voice ringing in the back of her mind, _"Don't try anything funny my dear Anko, I have some gentlemen lined up for you."_

Her arms flew at her sides as she ran harder, choking on air as it burned its way down her lungs_. "Don't disappoint me, and if I have to send Kabuto after you again…"_

Pulling a sharp right, she broke off the alley and turned onto a main sidewalk, not slowing down the slightest as she passed empty office buildings and closed shops. Something sharp sliced through her heel, throwing off her balance and only the gracefulness learned from dancing kept her from falling. _"I'll have him teach you a lesson you won't soon forget."_

A taxi passed by and loudly stalled out, the engine turned twice before finally sputtering to life. Anko frantically waved her arms and started shouting, as the car's engine revved and started slowly driving off. Her shoulders dropped as the last of her strength faded and she slowed to a limping walk. Two loud honks brought her back and she rose her head to see the taxi's hazards flashing and a hand waving for her.

She bolted to the safety of the cab, jerking the door open and dropping into the backseat. "Fifty-first and second," she huffed, ducking low in the seat. "And hurry too." Anko winced at the pain spreading from her side to the rest of her body.

The grandfatherly cab driver spared her a worried look as the car lurched forward. "You okay sweetie?" His grey eyebrows furred at her through the rearview mirror before he rummaged around in the front seat, and produced a white medical kit. "Here," he handed it to her. "Your foot's bleeding all over the floor."

She accepted the kit and retrieved some gauze. Holding it to her foot she offered an excuse, "Late for a very important date," she quoted the White Rabbit from that acid trip of a movie…man, she loved that movie.

"Uh-huh, you ain't running from anything I should know about, are you?" The left front wheel ground against the fender as the yellow taxi turned.

She handed the first aid kit back to the man. "What? No, no." She swallowed hard and tried to settle her racing heart. _Where am I going to go?_ she wondered. _I can't even lock myself in my apartment and pretend I'm not there…fuck, what am I going to do?_

Her eyes rolled to watch the empty streets pass by and as they got closer to their destination her heart pounded faster than during her sprint. Oldies music floated from the speaker, and she forced herself to focus on the AM static and absently began to hum along to the tune of _American Pie_.

"--you're okay?"

Anko jumped, not realizing she had spaced out or that she had been humming a rather dry song. "What?"

"I said, are you sure you're okay? You look terrified sweetie." The cabbie's grey eyes locked onto hers.

Her eyes grew two sizes as her apartment building came into focus. "Yea, just peachy." She exhaled heavily as the cab squeaked to a stop. "How much?" she asked, with eyes still trained on the building as her mind conjured up a thousand different places to hide.

"No charge sweetie."

That snapped her from her daze. "What? Are you sure?" The old man nodded with a smile. "Cool," she replied, greatly confused. She pushed door open with a rusty whine and stepped onto the sidewalk, trying to figure out what she was going to do about her predicament.

"Wait," the cabbie called. Once he had her attention he continued. "If I were you, I'd be sure to not be alone. This night has a bad air about it."

Yeah, this old man had to be strung out on heart medication. "Oh really? You don't say?" she asked with a sarcastic grin, tossing the bloodied cotton gauze.

He nodded and shifted into drive, the transmission clunked and the engine knocked louder. "Just an old man's intuition. Have a g'night."

She gently closed the door and watched the car fade into the distance as an idea came to her, albeit it was not a great idea but it was still worth a short. Anko turned tail and raced to the building, dragging her lame foot behind without much thought. She swore loudly as she fished through deep pockets for the security card, sweat gathered at her brows when she couldn't find it. Relaxing for a moment she remembered it was in her breast pocket and dug damn thing out. After violently swiping it through the reader twice before registering, it and beeped for her code number and she hastily punched in the security code. Shifting her weight nervously from foot to foot, the doors finally buzzed open and she rushed in heading straight for the elevator.

There was no way she was going to repeat last night's adventure!

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(A/N: I hope you enjoyed…ah, still can't get over the strap on! If you think it should come out, let me know!!! .) Tobi Smiley Face. Come on, let's make it popular!)


	7. Chapter 7

(A/N: Third time's the charm right? My stupid cat kept knocking the internet connection from the wall...anywho, yay! It's getting fun again! .) )

Disclaimer: This gets annoying...as usual, nothing changed from the previous chapters...I'm still poor and have no legal rights of Naruto. I'm just using the characters for my own amusement.

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Chapter Seven

Iruka jumped, immensely startled by loud pounding at his door. He glanced at the green numbers on the DVD player and groaned at the time. It had been two hours since his nightmare and, instead of trying to get back to sleep like a normal person, he had opted to watch a John Wayne marathon. Oh God, what had he become? Nevertheless, he rose from his position on the sofa and went to the door, peering through the peephole his face contorted into mixture of different emotions.

"Anko, what's the matter?" he asked as he opened the door to his flushed neighbor. "Are you okay? Did something happen?"

"No, no, I'm fine but," she glanced over her shoulder at the sound of the elevator doors ding. "Can I come in?" Iruka hesitated, unsure how to respond but warily stepped aside. "Sweet!" Anko rushed in, pushing past him with great hurry.

"Yea, no problem." He quietly shut the door just in time to miss the heavy footfalls of three men barreling down the hall. Streaks of burgundy caught his eye and he followed the trail to his wayward neighbor, now slumped against the arm of his couch. "Anko, are you okay?" He approached her with worry. _She's hurt, she's hurt oh shit she's bleeding!_ Dropping to his knees, he forcefully gripped her ankle and examined the dirty, bloody foot. "What happened? Your feet are filthy and you're bleeding!" She moved to protest but he hushed her with the raise of a hand. "No, save it. Wait here, and don't trek anymore blood on my carpet."

Anko huffed in annoyance, although she honestly felt quite flattered as he disappeared into his bedroom, returning a short time later with a washcloth, peroxide and a box of band-aids. "I'm fine doctor."

He disagreed with the shake of his head. "No, you're not. That'll get infected if you don't clean it." Squatting to the floor again, he reclaimed her foot and twisted the white cap from the antiseptic.

She tried to jerk her leg out of his grasp, only to have it tightened. She frowned slightly surprised by the strength behind his hands. "Stop. I'm fine."

His eyes lifted to meet her icy gaze, and returned it with just as much intensity. "No, you're not. Your feet are black and cut. If you want to stay, I'm going to clean them." Repositioning her ankle between his knees, he poured a generous amount of peroxide into the clean washcloth and took her general lack of protest as a sign of compliance.

Now, Iruka wasn't known as having a foot fetish, in fact, it's safe to say other people's feet made him want to gag under all circumstances; however, as he gently ran the washcloth over the bottoms of her feet, something strange bubbled in his chest. Stealing a short peek at his friend, he found her staring out toward the balcony with a lost expression.

The hair prickled along Anko's neck and her eyes snapped to the young teacher, a pink tint dusting his cheeks. She blinked as he shakily took her other foot in his hand, what the hell was wrong with him? "What the hell is wrong with you?"

He startled. "I…what? Nothing's wrong with me, what's wrong with you?" He smiled at the shift in mood and tickled her foot, feeling brave.

She giggled, yes contraire to popular belief Anko could in fact _giggle_, mostly when being tickled or at that break of sanity we all feel every now and then. "Don't!" She jerked her foot away from his dancing fingers. "I hate being tickled."

"Touchy." He took hold of her opposite leg and began to wipe away the dirt. "Where are your shoes?"

She shrugged. "I forgot them at work." Liar. "Had to chase a taxi down, must have stepped on glass or something."

"Uh-huh." The washcloth was now stained black. "Crap, I need another cloth." His eyes locked with hers. "Stay here."

"Yes doctor." Her eyes flickered over his body as he rummaged in the kitchen. He was a fairly attractive male specimen, slightly scrawny but he did have some strength. She smirked, yet he had a permanent stick up his ass. He returned with a roll of paper towels and reclaimed his hold on her. Anko watched him pour more of that God awful substance into the paper and came to the conclusion that she was going to break him, not in that sense, but she was going to take him out and show him a few good times. Hell, maybe even dislodge that stick.

"This is going to burn."

His even voice rang through her thoughts. "I thought you were done?" Then the fire came. "OW! Shit!" She jerked and tried to wretch her leg from his grasp, but he fought back and managed to work even more peroxide into the jagged cut.

"Stop being such a baby." Her struggles did not cease and instead increased in tempo. "God damnit, hold still Anko!"

"No, that burns! Fucking A, stop it!"

"That's because it's working, now hold still!"

"I said STOP!" She kicked him, plain and simple. Her foot contacted with his sternum, and he briefly tittered on his heels before losing balance.

Iruka was dazed for an instant but it quickly flared into anger. "What was that for?" he growled, feeling his temper slip as he forcefully yanked her boney ankle a tad too hard. Bad idea, Anko slid off the couch and promptly landed straddle-legged on Iruka's lap.

The two locked eyes and for one pure minute of awkwardness neither said a word. Iruka, being an innocent teacher, blushed and broke eye contact. His attention wondered to her fishnet shirt, hey it seemed like a pretty safe place to stare, and yet we bring you another bad idea by Iruka Umino. Immediately, the unknowing man's face turned three different shades of red at the realization that she wore no bra, and he could see everything! _EVERYTHING!_

A large smirk stretched across Anko's lips at their current position. "You move fast there Ace." She winked and blew a kiss to him.

His mouth fell open, his eyes still captivated by her chest. "I-I-I…" He gulped, suddenly very aware that his hand had traveled further up her leg, and now rested on her thigh. "Anko," he tried again with a dry throat, "why don't you…" God, he could hardly breathe, let alone speak.

The purple haired vixen followed his line of vision, and snickered lowly as she understood why he was in such a tizzy. "What's the matter?" She cocked a perfect eyebrow. "Never seen a pair before?"

He honestly didn't know how to respond to that. Of course he'd seen boobies before, plenty of times…but only in semi-serious relationships. Never had he been exposed like this…they were just out there, you know, begging for attention…his attention. Shit, he hadn't even bothered to check if she was already seeing someone, he could be committing a crime against another man and not even know it! Oh well, that thought only made his temperature rise…along with something else. He frowned and mentally slapped himself. _Stop it Iruka, there's no need for this, pull yourself together man!_

"Why aren't you wearing a bra?" he finally asked with a weak voice. His sharpened senses picked up the faint scent of her shampoo and he shuddered. Lord have mercy, had it really been that long since his last romantic encounter?

"Hmm, you don't seem to mind, am I correct?" Her fingers tangled in his ponytail and gave it a playful tug.

He twitched, clearing away the fog and looked sternly into her eyes. "Stop, I'm not like that." His hands enclosed around her waist and with a grunt, gently lifted her onto the couch. He pushed himself to his feet and once again retreated to the bedroom.

Anko blinked, dumbfounded and at a loss for words. Surely assuming her night with the young teacher to go a little further than an A&E John Wayne marathon. Reality bit at her as a black ball of fabric came hurling toward her and she fumbled to catch it. "What's this for?" she asked, examining the black t-shirt with disinterest.

"For you to wear. Please change Anko, for the sake of my mind, please." The young man caressed his temples and leaned against the countertop.

"Does it bother you that much?"

Okay, what the hell was wrong with this woman? "Yes, in fact it does. I'd like to think I'm above blinding gawking at breasts, not to mention I would think-or at least hope-that you wouldn't want to expose yourself like this. Honestly, do you really want everyone to stare?"

Anko tensed as her defenses rose. "Who are you? My father? No, so why don't you just shut it!"

His eyes narrowed. "Real mature. What are you, some kind of cheap call girl?" He missed the way her shoulders slumped. "I'm trying to be nice, but I can only go so far. If they're out there, I'm going to stare and I think that's rude and you deserve a better friend than that!" A pause. "God damnit! It's three in the morning and all I want to do is sleep! So if you're not going to change then just get the hell out of here and leave me be! Christ, you haven't even told me what you want at this hour!" He pulled his hair free of the tie and ran his hands through the brown locks with a sigh.

She stood, clenching tightly onto the clean black shirt. "I'll leave then, don't want to interrupt your beauty sleep," she sneered hotly and quickly started for the door, being sure to let him know just how pissed she was.

Guilt hit him like a train and he raced to the door. "Anko." He intercepted her and closed the door as she opened it. "You don't have to go, I'm sorry." Honey brown orbs looked at him showing off more hurt than anger. "Ah, shit...I'm sorry, I get cranky whe-"

She cut him off, not in the mood for explainations. "You're not the only one who's had a long night." And just like that she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a half-ass attempt at a hug.

He froze against the warmth of her body, yet again unsure how to respond until he finally gave in and awkwardly returned the gesture, coming to the conclusion that he had no idea how to read this woman. One minute she was being seductive, the next minute pissed to high heavens and then finally doing another one-eighty and seeking comfort. "Uh, yea." He wiggled out of her grasp and took a respective step back, scratching his neck as his cheeks darkened.

A worn smile tugged the corners of her lips at how easy it was to rile him. "Can I stay here tonight?" He faltered. "You're right, I should have told management about the broken lock…I'm just a little paranoid to be alone." She sure as hell hoped that sounded okay.

"Um, yea, no problem. I'll, uh, I'll take the couch."

"No, I don't mind." She sank into the cushions of the said furniture and clutched the shirt to her chest, giving her some kind of decency.

"No, no. I insist." He disappeared into the bedroom for like the millionth time that night. "You don't have to change if it bothers you that much," he called from the room. He entered the living room with his pillow tucked beneath his arm and a sheet, noticing with much relief that she had adorned the large shirt.

Her eyes snapped to him and she grinned. "I'm not really tired, I'm gonna stay up and watch TV." She scooted to the floor. "Is there anything else on? I'm not really a John Wayne type of girl."

"Well, what type of girl are you?" he asked, throwing the pillows on the couch and sitting next to her. Keeping a healthy distance, of course.

Flipping through the channels she replied, "Ah, you know…horror, action, comedy, those sorts of things."

He nodded. "Well, you're out of luck doll," he imitated John Wayne's voice. "There ain't nothin' on." He finished that sentence with a cheeky grin, quite pleased with the how he pulled off the aforementioned actor's famous monotone droll.

Anko stared at him as if he just grew a fourth head. "Don't ever do that again," she finally replied after a stunned moment and went back to channel surfing. "Or I'll castrate you."

He didn't respond to that, not wanting to chance the shaky peace with her. Iruka sighed and leaned his head onto the couch, staring up at the ceiling. Even in this most uncomfortable of positions, his body was relaxed. No more thoughts or disillusions of his previous nightmare kept sleep at bay. His head rolled in Anko's direction and he stared at her, drinking in her…no, no, he wouldn't let himself go there, but yes, she was beautiful. As his eyes grew heavy and his muscles grew heavier by the second, the last thing on his mind was her.

Oh no, oh yes, he was beginning to fall for her…if only he knew just how far he would fall before being impaled on the jagged rocks of faith.

***

A young man, no older than twenty grimaced as he glanced around the apartment, his grip tightening on the handle of his pistol. "She's not here, is she?" He looked to his partners for an answer. He growled and pushed wire frame glasses up with a well manicured nail. "Damnit, we're too late."

"The little skank's got to be around here somewhere," a man with dark sunglasses and a mullet-like haircut replied. "Should we start knocking on doors, Kabuto?"

"Are you crazy Yoroi?" the third member of the party asked. "At this hour? Nobody's gonna answer the door for us."

"That's why we make them answer, shit for brains!" Yoroi grumbled, irate at having been challenged.

"Why you...I'll show you who has shit for brains!"

"Oh yeah? Bring it on shrimp!"

"That's enough!" Kabotu growled, annoyed at having been paired with those two morons. "Misumi is right." The grey haired youth tapped the glass of Anko's snake enclosure. The reptile curled into a tight ball, stiff and rigid, ready to strike the offending hand. "She'll have to come back eventually." The snake hissed and struck the lid of its cage, dislodging the cinderblock that kept the animal locked in. "And when she does, we'll be right here waiting for her."

* * *


	8. Chapter 8

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(A/N: Yeah, not much to say. I'll probably be taking a break from this for a month or so and I thought I'd be nice and put this out.)

Disclaimer: Not associated with Naruto, S&W, or Magnum Research/IMI.

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Chapter Eight

A mass of wild brown hair groaned and tried to fight off the obnoxious rays of sunlight. Tan hands griped a blanket and pulled it over sleeping eyes. Finally the sun disappeared and Iruka released a satisfied sigh. His momentary bliss broke as a fly buzzed by his ear, repeatedly hitting him and tickling the sleep out of him. Large hands flew into the arm, uprooting the blanket and coming in contact with something fleshy and warm.

His eyes snapped open as he grasped the "fly" in his palm, rolling his thumb over small knuckles. A soft groan confirmed his suspicions and pulling off the blanket-that really happened to be a trench coat-he gazed into the sleeping face of Anko. Her head buried in his pillows with a sheet wrapped around her, and he briefly wondered how he had ended up on the floor. He released her hand when she sighed in her sleep and tucked her arm beneath the pillow, curling into the fetal position.

Iruka's vision snapped to the clock and he was slightly taken back by the time. For the first time in ages he had slept past twelve! He cleared his throat and swallowed some excess spit, grimacing at the taste of his morning breath. The young man stretched with a pleased moan and pushed himself into a sitting position. He folded his knees to his chest and rested his elbows a top the boney joints, not quite sure what to do or even if he wanted to do anything. His attention drifted to the TV noticing it was still on and that the remote had been abandoned near his feet. Disinterestedly, he grabbed the remote and started tossing it into the air, still musing over the idea of getting up.

"No…don't…stop…"

He looked toward Anko, and jumped when the remote landed on his head with a loud _CLACK_. _Aw, how cute,_ he thought, _she's dreaming._

She thrashed violently under the sheet for a second. "Go…away!"

It dawned on him that she was having a nightmare or rather a day terror, not a dream. He inched closer to her and gently took hold of her shoulders, crap she was burning up! Even through the cotton of the shirt she was like a ball of fire. "Anko, hey, it's okay," he whispered reassuringly and carefully stroked her hair.

Her breathing intensified for a second before finally calming. "Iruka," she moaned airily and his breath hitched. "Don't…me…here…no…tell." Pale hands reached out and long fingers raked at nothing, before falling limply off the side of the couch.

"Shh, it's okay Anko, it's just a bad dream." And without knowing what he was doing, he leaned in and pressed his lips against her forehead in a gentle kiss. It would have been fine, if at that precise moment she hadn't opened her eyes. He stared into the smoky orbs of his neighbor with lips still on her and his stomach sank. Pulling away instantly, he crawled back as far as he could; bumping into the TV stand before realizing sleep clouded her eyes.

"Ir…uka, come back." She reached out for him with a lost expression and he cautiously returned to the side of the couch, eyeing her warily. "Always…so, alone," she sighed snagging his shirt and pulling him close to her, snuggling into his neck with a groan typical of restless sleep.

Iruka's heart hammered against his ribs, threatening to explode and a tiny bead of sweat rolled down his brow. He inhaled deeply, the scent of perfume and cigarette smoke raping his senses. "I know, no one likes to be alone."

"…Scared…Iru…ka."

"Nonsense," he rasped quietly, not wanting to wake her but still promoting her sleep induced conversation. "You don't need to be scared, you're strong. I've only known you a few weeks, but shit, you're strong." He laughed. "Hell, you could kick my ass if you wanted to."

She wrapped her arms around his neck, her eyes now closed. "…He…try…kill…me."

That got his attention. "What? Who?"

"…Orochi…sex…money." She grimaced and if possible, cuddled even closer into his neck. "Don't…I not…"

"Anko, are you serious?" _Um, are you serious Iruka?_ his conscious asked. _You do know she's asleep, right? And she's having a bad dream. _But, no, he wasn't going to listen to reason and proceeded to push his luck further. "Is someone trying to hurt you? Anko?"

Her eyes flew open and this time there was no mistaking it…she was awake. "Mornin' sunshine." The color slowly drained from his face. "Is there something you wanted or do you always cuddle with your guests?"

"Ah, what are you talking about?!" He quickly retched out of her grip. "You were cuddling with me!"

Propping up on an elbow, she eyed him doubtfully. "In your dreams Scarface."

His jaw dropped. "Hey! You leave my cosmetic shortfalls out of this!"

The purple haired maiden rolled onto her back, laughing. "Holy shit! You are too easy!" she exclaimed through laughter. She caught her breath and dramatically wiped a tear from her eye. "You're going to have a freakin' heart attack by the time you're forty, you know that?"

"Yes, you've informed me of this before." They shared a comfortable silence before he finally got the gall to ask, "So, you have any dreams? You started talking in your sleep."

She sat up and stretched long arms over her head with grunt. "Oh really? Did I say anything interesting?" Tossing the sheet from her legs, she stood with a hand on her hip as she waited his response.

He scratched his scar. "Um, actually…yes, you did."

She offered him only mock amusement before declaring, "Well, I gotta go to the little girl's room, hold that thought for me okay?" And she sashayed past him, throwing him a wink as she slipped into the room.

Once again ignoring her innuendo, he moved to gather the sheet when she was out of sight. As he flipped the thin cotton out something fell onto the floor and caught his attention. Quickly folding the worn bed sheet, he set it down and reached to pick up an article of clothing…which so conveniently happened to be an orange skirt. Color rose to his cheeks as he held the miniskirt at eye level, oh lord why did she do this to him? Nimble hands folded the garment and set it on the cushion in an attempt to have it "out of the way" so to speak. Just as he turned off the television, a gentle knock sounded from his door. A frown carved a line across his features, the only one who ever bothered to visit was Anko and at the present minute she was using his facility.

Looking through the peephole his frown only deepened. "Can I help you?" he asked, opening the door to a young man with odd grey hair and glasses.

"Good afternoon, sorry to bother you but, may I come in for a second?" the visitor asked politely with a well rehearsed smile.

Iruka's brown eyes narrowed, something didn't seem right with this guy and then he noticed a rather unusual bulge on the side of his pants. "Um, what's this about again?" the teacher asked, crossing his arms and trying his best not to make it to obvious he was staring. _Is that, is that what I think it is?_

"That's why I wanted to come in and explain a few things with you." The grey haired teen shifted, and revealed more than he was aware of to the trained eye of the teacher.

_Fuck, it is. Why the hell is this guy carrying a gun? _Iruka glanced over his shoulder. _Hopefully this kid isn't packing too heavy a caliber, but shit…mine's under the cushion…and Anko… _Anko, just the thought of her brought about a primal male instinct, one he hadn't felt in so long…the need to protect her at all costs. His attention drew back to the guest. "Uh, I don't think so."

Silver eyebrows drew together in a knot, unhappy with the current hospitality; none of the other tenants had been this difficult. "Fine then, my name is Kabuto Yakushi and my boss has sent me to track down Ms. Anko Mitarashi. She left work early without permission."

"Seems a bit drastic to be knocking on people's doors, doesn't it?"

Kabuto cleared his throat, growing more and more annoyed with this guy's commonsense. "Ms. Mitarashi is a prized asset of our…company and she had several prior engagements that she failed to meet."

"So fire her, obviously she's a lousy worker." He glanced over his shoulder again, and tried to calculate the time it would take to reach his gun if this guy pulled anything funny.

He pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. "While I'm not at liberty to discuss the nature of Ms. Mitarashi's issues, I can assure you she cannot be fired." A smile that made Iruka uneasy curved the boy's lips. "However, I noticed you are her closest neighbor and getting straight to the chase, have you seen her recently?" He flicked a picture of her and showed it to the now, bemused teacher.

Iruka grasped the picture between his fingers and stared at it. He didn't recognize Anko at all…and why was she wearing a bikini? "You know," he started, handing the picture back, "I've only seen her once, when I first moved in and that was about a month ago. She came across as a night owl and I try to avoid being up at all hours."

"I see," Kabuto answered completely unconvinced as he tucked the Polaroid into his breast pocket. "Well, I'll stop wasting your time." Iruka was about to shut the door. "Wait, if you happen to see her before we find her, give her this." He handed the other man a business card. "Let her know Orochimaru is most unhappy."

Brown eyes stared at the card, his mind unable to process that this kid was a bouncer, a scrawny teenager was a b-o-u-n-c-e-r, a freaking bouncer. What the hell did he bounce? Kittens? He smirked at the thought before asking, "How am I supposed to know if you found her?"

There was that disconcerting smile again. "Oh trust me, you'll know. Have a nice day."

Iruka closed the door with an uneasy feeling brewing in the pit of his stomach as he tightly held the young man's card. He tossed the cardstock onto the ataman and dropped to a knee in front of the sofa, pulling a large caliber handgun from under the cushion; he had hid it there last night when Anko wasn't looking. Clicking the release, the magazine slid out to reveal thirteen ready to go fifty caliber rounds and Iruka grimly thought back to Anko's wimpy twenty-two. Slamming the magazine back, he slipped the Desert Eagle under the cushion and went to find his neighbor; it was time to give her a lesson on proper fire power.

***

Kabuto sat on a bench near that skank's apartment building and idly played with his phone, mulling over the best way to break the news to his boss about their current situation. He had made those two buffoons wait at her apartment, explaining that he had better things to do than be graced by their presence. It wasn't a complete lie as he was currently on a roll in blackjack. After winning a few more rounds against his cell phone he finally gave in and dialed his boss. There was an answer almost immediately.

_"Ah, Kabuto, just the person I was looking forward to hearing from. I expect some good news."_ Orochimaru's light voice floated over the mouthpiece.

The young man in question cleared his throat, unsure how to word it. "Well, not exactly…it seems she beat us to it." There was a lengthy pause on the other end and Kabuto opened his mouth to speak again, but quickly shut it finding he had nothing else to say. _Should have had one of those idiots break the news to him instead,_ he thought grimly.

_"So where is she?"_

"We don't know sir, but we did go around her building and ask if anyone had seen her."

_"And let me guess, no one has?"_

"Well, I think her next door neighbor may know more than he lets on…but I'm not sure. I left those two morons at her apartment just incase she returns. They'll call me if she shows up."

_"You had better hope she does or I'll hold you personally accountable. Damnit! That little whore has made me look bad for the last time. Rough her up a bit and then bring her to me, alive…I want to finish the job personally."_

"Yes, Orochimaru." The line went dead and Kabuto snapped his phone shut with a scowl. That bitch was definitely going to get it, even if he didn't get the pleasure of ending it…she was going to suffer.

He grinned as a bus pulled to a screeching stop in front of the bench, its door opening as he stood and stepped toward it. Oh yeah, he would be sure to make her pain last…nice and slow. Taking a seat near the front, he watched the building move away from the dirty window, anticipating the minute he got his hands around her neck. And when he exited the bus at some unknown destination, he found he was still grinning.

***

"And this," Iruka explained holding up an impressive gun, "is a Smith and Wesson Model 29 .44 Magnum, in other words the _Dirty Harry_ gun. It's a double action revolver and holds up to six rounds." He opened the chamber, showing his companion the empty slots. "She's empty for right now, but--you're bored aren't you?"

"Huh? What? Oh, no...this is so interesting. We've gone through like," her eyes drifted to a large assortment of firearms laying on the bed, "eight different guns. I thought you said you didn't have a collection? You even have marksmanship awards." She playfully elbowed him. "Who would've thought sweet little Iruka was a gun fanatic. Hmm, it's kind of a turn on."

The teacher promptly blushed and scratched the back of his neck. "Ah, well, you know how it is." He cleared his throat. "Anyway, she's got enough power to take out a polar bear with the right aim, but be warned the recoil is a bitch. She can fire either the standard .44 Magnum Cartridge or .44 Special. Um, right now I think I only have the standard. Is that okay?"

"Why are you asking me?" She examined an old photo of Iruka proudly posing in front of a first place trophy, a stupid smile plastered on his young face and a shotgun slung over his shoulder. "How old were you in this picture? You don't have that scar here." She ran her pinky nail over the glossy paper.

His blush deepened and stammered for a response. "Well, uh-you, had asked for something with a little more…bang, I thought…"

Anko set the picture down. "Whoa, wait…are you saying, what I think you're saying?" He nodded so embarrassed he couldn't look at her. "Not that that's not cool and all, but why would you just hand over something like this?"

"I have enough?" It came out as more of a question to himself, not wanting to tell her the truth.

"But, this one is so much cooler than the other ones."

A twinkle flashed in his eye. "No, believe it or not I got another handgun that out does this one. Want to see her? She's the most beautiful handgun in the world."

She didn't get a chance to answer as he rushed out of the room in excitement. "Jeez, this is like show and tell here," she huffed.

"Look." He shoved a more modern looking handgun under her nose. "This is my baby, Maria. Isn't she beautiful?"

His expectant smile was almost too much for Anko to bear. "Um, yeah…it's great."

"Here, hold her." The young man pushed the gun into her hand.

Humoring him, she turned the stainless steel weapon over in her hand not sure what else to do. "It's nice," she said handing it back to him.

He nodded, eager to tell her more. "This is my Mark nineteen Desert Eagle action express, she's a semi-automatic, firing thirteen .50 caliber rounds. That puts the magnum to shit any day of the week, not to mention she doesn't have as bad a recoil." He finally caught on to her hints. "Heheh, sorry…I get a little excited when it comes to Maria."

"And all of your other ones. Jeez, are you preparing for World War III or rise of the zombies?"

He set the gun down, taking extra precaution in doing so. "Actually, I have more. These are just the handguns. Did you want to see my entire collection?"

Her jaw dropped. "You have more? My lord, when did you buy all of these? You're like what, twenty-six, seven?"

Damnit, why wouldn't his blush go away? "Uh, well they were my father's, he was in the military and had an affinity for guns. Guess it rubbed off on me. Anyway, when he died I inherited them." Iruka smiled. "All nine handguns, three shotguns, four rifles and a couple assault rifles."

Anko appeared impressed with the young man and picked up the .44 from earlier. "Are you sure I can use it?" she asked bashfully. "I've never even fired a gun, I just sort of procured the other one."

"There's an indoor shooting range a few blocks away, we could go there maybe over the weekend and practice. That is…if you wanted to."

"Are you asking me out on a date?" A wicked smiled curved the length of her mouth and she leaned closer to him with half-lidded eyes.

"No-no! It's nothing like that! I-I-"

She held a finger to his lips, silencing him. "Remember that heart attack I keep mentioning?" He nodded. "Good, now calm down. It's okay if you want to take me on a date, I'm flattered." And she gave him a small peck on the cheek, way too amused with the color of his face not to chuckle. "Now, I'm bored with gun talk. How about something to eat?"

* * *

(A/N: A closing note, Desert Eagles rock my socks, they are so damn sexy...go, look them up and if you're not in awe then there's something wrong with you .) hehe, just kidding...but seriously, they're a damn sexy piece of metal.)


	9. Chapter 9

(A/N: Yeah this took a little longer than expected. I'm not sure I like how it turned out though, oh well that's what reviews are for.)

Disclaimer: Nine chapters in and I'm still not-nor will I ever-making any profit from this. I have no rights or anything else.

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Chapter Nine

Golden eyes scanned through line after line of accounting codes, cost estimates and fiscal data that would look like ancient Greek to the untrained; yet to Orochimaru, each encrypted message revealed a whole world of knowledge. Such as how the first of every month there seemed to be a withdrawal of exactly eight hundred and fifty dollars. His forehead scrunched together as he tried to mentally do the math, then grew impatient and withdrew the trusty calculator. Numbers quickly punched in and multiplied by another large number, then divided by another to get a percent and then more math until the equal sign was pressed. His mouth fell open as he slowly comprehended the information at hand, roughly thirty dollars was unaccounted for a _day._ He hadn't lost this much money since that bastard accountant had "helped" himself to pay for his daughter's college fund. Oh, Orochimaru had put a stop to that real fast. Just as he was about to call Kabuto the door to his office flew opened and slammed against the wall.

"Hey! Buddy! There you are man, been looking for you!" Jiraiya announced happily as he barged in, pulling a chair in front of the other's desk. "Tried to call you all day, had the best Mexican food at some dingy taco stand." He laughed loudly and rubbed his stomach. "Tsunade's gonna hate me tonight."

Orochimaru rubbed his temples, not believing this was happening. "I really needed to know about your bowel functions."

Jiraiya scratched his arm and laughed, appearing proud with himself for disgusting his normally stoic partner. "Anyway, what I really came here to talk about is," he stood from the chair and went to the hall, pulling in some woman, "her!"

In stepped a young woman with long blonde hair and the body of a Dallas cheerleader, adorned in a tight mini skirt and a very revealing shirt. "Hello, I've brought my resume for you to look over."

It took a moment for the disinterested manager to speak and, completely ignoring her, he asked, "What about her?" Something suddenly clicked in his mind and he turned to the woman. "Why would you bring a resume for a position as a stripper, my dear?" There was silence. "In any case, there are no openings I don't know why my partner would mislead you into thinking so."

Jiraiya appeared confused at that comment and glanced between the two. "You know, as a replacement?" he prompted.

"What, a replacement for who? Nobody turned in a notice." He began to ruffle around the papers on his desk.

The white haired man sighed and turned back to the woman. "Go wait out in the hall or get something at the bar." With a huff of annoyance, the blonde girl nodded and left the two men. Once he was certain she was out of hearing range he continued. "For Anko."

"And what of Anko? As far as I know, she still works here…and she's still alive." He added the last part for good measure.

"Ah, come on Orochimaru, I don't think she's coming back. Just let it go." This wasn't going well, not in the least.

Pale skin grew red with anger. "You want me to 'let it go'?" The other man nodded. "I can let a lot of things go." He motioned to the spending reports. "Such as a monthly fee of eight hundred and fifty dollars. Now the question is, should I add this to her debt or should you pay it back?"

"What?! Are you accusing me of-of stealing? That is absurd! We're partners in this!"

"You know, I've always wondered how she could afford to stay in that apartment, I only gift her ten percent of the tips she earns…I would assume her to spend that on food." His eyes narrowed. "Now I know."

"Where are you going with this? I never took any money…I only gave her enough to rent the place. Honestly, if she went to someone about this _we'd _be in a whole world of trouble. I'm not jeopardizing this business or my other one…let alone my life for a measly seventy or eighty grand." He ran a hand through his prematurely white hair. "We make that much in a week; it's not worth it, you-no _we_ could be convicted of human trafficking! Or running a sex slave operation…or something! That means prison Orochimaru…as in getting raped in the showers, never seeing our families, no more-"

Orochimaru slammed his hands on the desk effectively silencing Jiraiya. "Damnit you fool! What makes you think that wretch is smart enough to go to anyone? I have her on a tight leash, one she cannot break."

A grimace spread across Jiraiya's features. "Seems like she did." The other man snarled in response and Jiraiya cocked an eyebrow completely unperturbed and replied very nonchalantly, "Drop the illusion of control. She is a person, a living breathing person, not something you own."

"It's about the money and you know that!"

"Bullshit!" If Orochimaru was startled he didn't show it. _Nothing ever gets to him,_ Jiraiya thought weakly before speaking. "It's not about the money! We both know you get enjoyment out of doing this…just like with the other girl. You drove her to suicide…and _laughed _at her obituary! Damnit Orochimaru!" And without thinking he added, "I'll pay off her debt, in cash."

Golden eyes gleamed with apathy and a thin black eyebrow arched. "In my defense, I find it quite irrelevant to mention she left behind two goldfish and secondly, why would you make such a generous offer? Can't I have a little fun?" he hissed with a glassy edge betraying any humor he may have been attempting.

"If you don't except my offer then consider our partnership over."

He blinked. "Are you threatening me?"

Jiraiya snarled. "For being a self-proclaimed genius, you're not very bright." If it were psychically possible steam would be pouring out from his ears. Ugh, he was beyond pissed! And he was sure the same could be said about his partner. "I don't know how to make it any more clearer: I. Am. Not. Go-ing. To. Jail. For. Y-"

"I get it already," Orochimaru huffed, seemingly unaffected by his friend's snide remark and grinned. "Look at us, we're no better than children bickering back and forth over spilled milk and who'll take the blame." He silently rummaged around the top of his desk and produced a quarter, holding it up between his thumb and middle finger. "Let's flip a coin, shall we?"

Jiraiya scowled at the intentional innuendo and returned the jester. "You're willing to leave our partnership to the flip of a coin? You're unbelievable." Even as he said this, his hand extended and grasped the other sealing the deal.

"See now, was that so hard? Hm, and they say I'm unreasonable."

"Whatever just flip the damn coin Orochimaru."

The man in mention grinned at his partner and calmly flicked the silver note. "I call heads, that sound fair to you, Jiraiya?" The other man mumbled beneath his breath as the coin went airborne. Orochimaru quirked an eyebrow. "What was that? I didn't quite catch that?" There was an unmistakable twinkle in his eye.

Jiraiya loudly cleared his throat. "I said, that better not be your trick coin."

That wicked little twinkle intensified as he caught the coin. "We'll see about that."

***

Iruka amused himself by cleaning up the remainder of their meal, not much work in a sense of putting away a half empty pizza box, but hey, work was work no matter how minute the task be. He sighed once the box was safely tucked away and drummed his fingers on the counter, glancing around the apartment before settling on Anko's forgotten coat. His interest peaked and he stole another glance around the empty space before making his way to the garment. The teacher picked up the coat and checked his surrounding yet again, completely aware of his paranoia.

His eyebrows furrowed. "Oh, this is ridiculous. She went to feed her snake and change." Still, an uneasy feeling crawled through his skin giving him goose-bumps. He held up the tan coat and smirked, but hesitated as his idea became more idiotic by the second. "No, I shouldn't go through her stuff…even if it's to get to know her better…or because I'm horridly bored." His shoulders slumped. "Get a grip Iruka, you think barging in was bad enough, this will be even worse."

Exhaling in a very dramatic way he dropped the coat and glanced at the clock, calculating the time she left and when she'd be back. Wait, was he counting on her coming back? He pawed the air, an act in attempt to wave the thought from his mind. It didn't work. The young man leaned into the worn cushions, mind reveling around a certain female. A stupid grin grew as he pictured her in that little orange skirt wiggling her hips in a way that leaves nothing to the imagination. A warm sensation bubbled in his stomach at the thought and his hands shaped the air in the form of an hourglass, all this done with that same stupid grin. Ah yes, even seemingly innocent teachers sometimes experience lust.

***

"Huh, well will you look at that Orochimaru," Jiraiya beamed to his partner. "You actually had a good idea for once."

Gold eyes narrowed at the sight of tails and a hiss of air escaped him.

"So, go ahead and call your goons off. If I know you, I know you've probably got them set up in her apartment. Oh boy, how did I end up with such a heartless friend?" Jiraiya looked to his friend for a sign of tolerance and he released a hearty chuckle at the sight. "Ah, whatever, you look so pissed right now!"

A dull thud rang in his ears as his anger began to rise. Why not just kill the imbecile before him? His hand twitched and reached beneath the surface of the desk. _A deal is a deal. No matter the outcome._

"Okay, let's hammered and try to sneak into the women's changing room at Mervyn's again."

_Top right drawer, just grab it and shut this moron up once and for all._ A cool knob came into contact with hot skin.

"Hey you remember the time we snuck into the changing room and those two people were going at it? I've never seen you so red!"

The drawer slid out with a hushed _whoosh_ and a glossy black object came into view.

"Damn man, I got lucky huh? Ha, I need to call Tsunade…hmm she might give me something special to get a piece of this luck."

_Oh God, definitely time to shut him up. _Orochimaru's fingers closed around a cell phone and brought it to the light. "That's enough. I don't wish to hear about your sexual rampages with my sister." He flipped open the phone with another plan coming to mind. "Give me a minute Jiraiya."

"What you don't want to soak in the glory of the great Jiraiya?!"

"Get out now."

The other man wiggled his finger. "Oh no, I want to hear you call and say it."

***

Anko groaned as her vision started to come into shattered focus. Cold water streamed over her and she dumbly came to the conclusion she was in a shower…though how that came to be wasn't ready to be remembered. Broken sentences fluttered through the air and she tried to catch onto the words and voices…two voices, two male voices. Were they arguing? More importantly what the fuck were they doing in her apartment?! Her head rolled toward the sound of the voices (oh God, her head fucking hurt) but squeezed her eyes shut at the ensuing marching band using her skull as the street. The strangers must have noticed because their voices fell hushed and one approached her.

"Heh, I know you're awake so stop pretending."

_Him._ The hair rose on the back of her neck and a shiver crept down her spine. Her eyes rolled open when two harsh fingers pinched the sides of her face and violently shook her. Anko hissed and jerked her head from his grasp, blindly grabbing to something to pull herself up. "Get away from me!"

"Calm down whore." He sent a swift kick to her stomach. "Today's your lucky day. Jiraiya pulled through for you. You must have been one hell of a fuck."

Anko held onto her stomach biting back her boiling anger, the meaning of his words not reaching her jumbled mind. "I'm going to kill you," she whispered so low he had to lean in to hear.

"Good luck bitch," he snickered before giving her a forced kiss, biting at her lip and pushing his tongue in her mouth. "Let's go Misumi," he said pulling away before he could get his tongue bitten. "You heard what the boss said."

"Yeah, I can't believe he'd wager something like that on a coin toss and actually lost."

The two men continued talking as they slowly made their way from the bathroom and floated out of hearing range. Only when the front door slammed did Anko finally move from the shower. Her legs were like jell-o when she stepped onto the soft carpet of the living room, doing a quick swivel of the area and thanking whatever higher being there may be that that monster was gone.

Tearing the soaked clothes from her body, she did a visual inspection looking for any cuts or signs of trauma. As far as she could tell nothing other than a knot on the head (which would explain waking up under cold water) was out of place. Yet another thing to be thankful of, if she would have woke up in another situation…well, she wasn't sure she wanted to travel that avenue. Putting the incident behind her with all the determination that her day would not be ruined, she adorned a pair of low cut shorts and a tank top before brushing her hair out. After all, she _had_ told Izuka (that didn't sound right for some reason…) that she was going to shower.

***

Iruka had graduated from shaping an hourglass to what looked like squeezing round objects that belong on the female (and overweight male) anatomy when his daydream was cut short.

"What the hell are you doing?" Anko stood against the front door, arms crossed over her chest as she regarded her neighbor with a mix of worry and humor. Not that she was a creepy stalker in any way, but she had been watching him for a good thirty seconds.

Iruka stopped his musings drained of any color and stared with horror to the source of his fantasy. He swallowed hard. Damnit, why did she always catch him on the spot? Mark his word; he was going to go to the end of the earth to catch her in an awkward position…no pun intended of course.

"Or…do I even want to know?"

"Um, I…I…oh look!"

"Huh, what?" she fell for the age old trick and almost slammed into the door. "Little bastard," she mumbled beneath her breath, turning around only to be greeted with Iruka's trademark smile and a cold beer in his hand. "Ooh, beer."

And that was all that needed to be said among the two adults for the previous question to be forgotten.

* * *

(A/N: Okay, note to all who've added this to your alerts/favorites, I thank you I really do. But I love reviews the most, even if it's just a short "nice story" or something like that...I'm easy to amuse and it keeps me excited and interested in writing. So don't be shy and hit up that button.)


	10. Chapter 10

(A/N: Oh, Joy...an update.)

Disclaimer: Nope, still poor, starving and using _Naruto_ characters for my own amusement.

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Chapter Ten

Anko slowly sipped her beer as she sat cross legged on Iruka's couch vaguely aware of the sitcom playing on the television. The other occupant of the apartment had wandered off some time ago to pee and was now presumably passed out on his bed, snoring loudly. She smirked, at least he was still alive. Another tickler added to her list, train him to hold his alcohol. It was only three beers…well, she currently nursed her seventh, but that was beside the point. Not to mention she needed to build up the courage to check her voicemail. Eleven missed calls from Jiraiya and one from Orochimaru, the screen informed her.

Finishing her drink off, she took a deep breath and began going through the messages. Halfway through the voicemail, her stomach flipped and she threw up. Her whole body shook and she squeezed tears back. Maybe it was the booze or just Anko finally letting go, but with Jiraiya's words echoing in her mind she found it almost impossible to not show any kind of emotion. She stood up, vomit dripping from her lap and retched again, splattering her legs and soaking the carpet. It didn't matter, it was over and whatever else happened in her sorry excuse of a life, no one moment will ever amount to this one. And she was content to believe that until it proved otherwise.

She never finished listening to her voicemail…and as luck would have it, the most important message was the last, from Orochimaru.

***

_Typical Sunday afternoon light filtered in through yellowed curtains as ten year old Iruka stepped into the room. His father's back to him as he lounged in a cigarette burned loveseat, staring endlessly into nothingness as he brought a bottle to cracked lips. The man downed the amber liquid and threw the bottle to the carpet before turning bloodshot eyes to his son-his only child at that-while reaching for another drink. A crooked grin tugged the width of his mouth, stretching a few of many scars. The boy nervously began to fiddle with the ball in his hands instantly regretting seeking out his father._

_"What do you want kid? Where's that tramp?" Iruka's father was now more than immune to the affects of alcohol and there was not a slur in his voice. Iruka gulped and found his shoelaces with sudden interest. "Look at me when I talk to you boy!" His head snapped up, grip tightening on the baseball. The man snorted and took a swig, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Now, what do you want?"_

_"I was-was wondering if you would play catch with me or maybe shoot at the squirrels with the BB Gun?" the child blurted out._

_Vacant eyes stared dumbly at the child for a few moments before responding. "Didn't you hear me the first time? Where's your mother?" Another swing and a burp. "You're a dumb-fuck…"_

_Dejected although very much expected. "She went to the store…" _

_His father gave an empty chuckle and finished the rest of the drink, discarding it in the same fashion as the other eight bottles. "Fucking bitch, spending more money than she's worth. Don't ever get involved with their kind, they'll suck you for all you're worth. Nope, when you get wood just rent a pussy for five minutes. That'll save you a lot of money and bullshit in the long run. Understand?"_

_His gaze dropped. "Yes, dad."_

_"Get over here kid." Iruka slowly inched forward before he stood in front of his father. Black eyes stared coldly at the child before snagging the boy's collar. "You know what your problem is?" Strong whiskey tainted breath washed over him. "You look like a fucking pussy." A large Army knife flashed in Iruka's brown eyes. "You need a few scars, be like your old pop. You'd like that, right?"_

_With all the might possessed by a ten year old, Iruka yanked himself free and turned to run. His father cursed behind him and tossed an empty bottle at the child, barely missing but succeeding in scaring him. The boy dropped the ball and tripped over it, slamming to the floor and whacking his nose a good one. He didn't have time to register the hot liquid seeping into his mouth when his dad hoisted him up by the hair only to battered him against the floor again. His conscious swayed and dipped into black, but was suddenly brought back full force with the steel edge of a knife cutting through- _

***

Water ran from the faucet with a soothing white noise and Anko lost herself staring at the flow, unsure how she ended up in the bathroom or in different clothes. She glanced over her shoulder at Iruka messily sprawled over his bed, lost in a deep sleep. An unfamiliar feeling bubbled in her chest and she now had a new object to study. He knew nothing of what she did-_used to do, _gotta love that pass tense. She could start new with him, he would never know of the countless acts she'd been forced to perform.

Slowly, she found her way to the bed and stood awkwardly over him, still unsure of how to go about this. His lips moved, forming silent words that meant nothing to her and grimaced. Bad dream probably. Then he whimpered quietly and she slipped beside him without a second thought. He was warm and she was happy for once. To Anko, she didn't need another reason. After all, cuddling with Iruka was still a thousand times better than being alone on the couch. He shifted in his sleep, clutching her tightly by burring his face in her chest. Instantly the thought that he'd invent a new shade of red if he could see himself crossed her mind. After a few adjustments, she nuzzled the top of head his head.

_He's so going to flip when he wakes up, _she thought smugly before her spinning world slowed and blackness settled.

***

_"What the fuck is wrong with you Ibiki?" Iruka's mother yelled at the man in front of her. She came home from the store to see her son with a black eye and his nose damn near hanging from his face._

_"He looked like a pussy, now he looks tough, like a man should."_

_She was so blown away by his reasoning that it took her a minute to recover and even then she didn't know what to say. "I'm speechless…you're so…so…"_

_His father dismissed her with a wave of the hand and a crude gesture. "It's done and over with, should be proud of him, he didn't even cry. Now, be a good girl and hand me that bottle."_

_Her mouth fell open and she blinked, unsure how to react as she grabbed the neck the wine bottle, recently purchased on her grocery trip. She spared a brief look to her son and said, "Honey, just keep the towel to your face till it stops bleeding and go watch TV in your room." Her eyes went back to the man. "I'll be up to check on you in a bit."_

_The child nodded and hopped off the stool and started to move from the kitchen when his father stopped him, pushing him to the cool linoleum. "Little shit, don't give in to them that easy!" He unbuckled his belt and pulled it free, raising the leather strap in the air and brought it down hard._

_"Iruka!" His mother dashed to him, shouldering the drunkard out of the way before he could get another hit in. "What is the matter with you? Just because you were in some piss ass war doesn't give you the right to do this!" The boy clutched at his mother, shamefully crying into her embrace. _

_A dark chuckled rolled from the scarred man's lips. "'Piss ass war' huh?" He sighed for a minute before he grabbed her by the back of her brown locks, sending the woman into the counter. "How 'bout I burn all the hair off your pretty little head and use it as a fucking carving board? That'll be fun wont it? See what kinda war it was."_

_"Dad! Stop!" Iruka screeched, his throat tight with tears._

_"Shut up boy, you just got yourself a first class seat at the show. I call it, 'How to Deal with Dumb Whores'. This is an important lesson-"_

_His mother suddenly reared and clunked him on the head with the wine bottle, shattering glass and sending red wine across the room. He staggered back a hand on his head till he slumped against the fridge. The woman's chest heaved heavily as she pointed the jagged edges of the bottle at her husband. "Lay another finger on him and I swear to whatever God exists, I'll fucking kill you."_

_If either Iruka or his mother knew Orochimaru, they would've likened the smile his father gave to one of his. "Not if I-"_

_"Iruka, Iruka. Iruka wa_ke up._"_

* * *

(A/N: I gotta put it out there, was I the only one offened that Hinata admitted she loves Naruto to his face and then absolutely NOTHING came of it? He went fox-shit for her!!! Not for that pink haired slut! And then the nerve of her to dare give him a hug! I blew a gasket when I saw that joke...I think I may actually be done with the series after those little stunts...seriously, WTF?????!!!! And now there's talk of killing off Anko! The only female character that's not a f-ing ditz! I will drop _Naruto_ like a bomb and spend the rest of my life writing nasty letters to the creators if these two MAJOR problems aren't addressed!!! Who's with me?)


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